


Just Desserts

by Miko no da (Miko)



Category: Fushigi Yuugi
Genre: F/M, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 1999-01-01
Updated: 1999-01-01
Packaged: 2018-03-05 11:47:12
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Rape/Non-Con
Chapters: 13
Words: 21,870
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3119012
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Miko/pseuds/Miko%20no%20da
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Tasuki's big mouth has gotten him into trouble, and Chichiri's not sure he can fix it.</p><p>(Posting OLD fics from my defunct website)</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

Chichiri trudged wearily up the road. His feet dragged along the hard packed, dusty surface, and the brim of his kasa was pulled low to hide his face. Beneath the shadow, even his smiling mask seemed less cheerful than normal. Though the summer sky was a brilliant blue and birds sang choruses all around him, he appeared not to notice, lost in his own gloomy thoughts.

*Why am I still doing this, no da?* He wondered to himself for the hundredth time that day, perhaps the millionth time that month. *Moving aimlessly from town, never staying long enough to make friends, or even acquaintances. Once Suzaku was called, my destiny was fulfilled. What more is there to live for?*

He glanced to one side, automatically looking for the flame-red hair, dancing amber eyes, and foul mouth of the one man left in the world that understood him. Tasuki, the only other remaining Suzaku Seishi, had been his constant travel companion for nearly two and a half years. But the pointless life on the road had finally gotten to the good-natured bandit, and he had departed from Chichiri's side six months ago, to make his way back to his mountain home. Chichiri sighed heavily, feeling as if a great weight rested upon his chest. *Six months and I still miss him like crazy, no da!* The thought depressed him more, and he sighed again. *Maybe I should go visit Mt. Leikaku, na no da.* That idea brightened his spirits considerably, and he perked up immediately. *Hai, no da! That's exactly what I'll do no da!*

His steps no longer dragging, Chichiri set off more purposefully along the road he had been traveling. He was, he realized with no little amusement, already heading in the proper direction and on the correct road to get there. *Guess my subconscious already knew what I was going to do, no da!* He grinned to himself, and his magical mask echoed the expression as if with relief to be back to its normal state.

 

* * *

It was mid-afternoon when Chichiri reached the city of Hinansho, the last large town before the territory of the Leikaku bandits began. Despite its name, the town was full of men equally as disreputable as the bandits - worse, in fact, since these were the men that Tasuki and Kouji had refused to add to their well-trained, loyal group. Tasuki's men, whom he led under his old name of Genrou, were, in all, a rather honourable bunch; and while both Tasuki and Kouji could be merciless when it pleased them, both suffered from the inflictions of soft hearts and loud consciences.

As he entered the town, Chichiri debated whether or not to stop there for the night. While there were still several hours of daylight left, he would not be able to make it to the bandit hideout before night fell. And he had no particular desire to be out in bandit-controlled forest at night, friend or no. The bandits had a nasty habit of shooting first and asking questions not at all at night, and they likely wouldn't recognize him in the dark.

Having decided to stay, Chichiri set out to find a half-decent inn to spend the night in. This turned out to be a more difficult task than he would have thought. After nearly an hour of frustrated searching and finding nothing but vermin infested hell-holes, he was about ready to give up and risk the night guards of the forest, when he heard a commotion off to one side.

"IIEEEEEEEEEEEE!!" a high-pitched voice screamed from a darkened alley. "Iiee! Hanasteyo! On-onegai! Yamete!" There was the meaty sound of flesh hitting flesh, and another scream, wordless this time. Rough laughter echoed from the alley, muffling the sound of gasping sobs.

Chichiri's eyes widened, and he glanced around quickly. What few other occupants the street had were hastily averting their eyes from the alley, and scurrying off. With a snarl of contempt for the other passerby, Chichiri set his staff before him and charged into the alley.

The sight which met his eyes was pretty much what he had expected. Six large men surrounded a young woman with bright, flame-red hair in a torn, stained set of men's trousers and little else. The pieces of a man's linen shirt on the ground told him that the men had probably already begun ripping her clothes off in preparation for their 'entertainment'. Her pale, slender arms were held before her in a useless attempt to cover her more than ample chest, while the men laughed at her modesty. Chichiri's eyes narrowed in disgust. He'd seen this scene played out far too many times before.

"Yamete!" he commanded, staff brandished before him. Two of the men turned to snarl at him, while the other four ignored him completely.

"Go find one of your own," said one brute roughly. "This one's ours."

Chichiri pulled off his mask with one hand, revealing his scarred face. He lowered his staff to the ground with a crack, the rings jangling discordantly. "Perhaps you didn't understand me the first time," he growled. "Leave her alone!"

One man cracked his knuckles, and the other pulled out a club from somewhere. The woman had abandoned her efforts to cover her chest in a desperate attempt to keep her pants in one piece, as two of the others seemed intent on cutting them off her. Chichiri noted distantly that she was doing a fairly good job of fighting back, using nails, teeth and feet to do a fair amount of damage to the brutes. Unfortunately, this was simply inciting them to be rougher, and her strength was no match for theirs.

Chichiri had had enough. Raising his ki, he let his battle aura flare out around him, the shining red of one of Suzaku's Seishi lightening the alleyway. Startled, the two men who were set to attack him backed off.

"I said, leave her be!" He yelled, and forced his ki outwards in a blinding wave, which knocked four of the six men back from the girl. The four men touched by the light screamed in pain, and their two luckier companions turned and ran at the sound. As Chichiri's aura withdrew back towards him, the other four followed their friends out of the alley, leaving the stunned girl alone with the Seishi.

Chichiri let his aura fade, and knelt tiredly before the woman, who was now curled up in a ball, hands covering her face. "Daijoubu?" he asked, gathering up the scraps of her shirt. Realizing the garment was too far-gone to be repaired, even temporarily, he gave up and unfastened his kesa, slinging it around her shoulders.

Her long red hair, matted and dirty, streamed down the blue cloth, giving the impression of fire dancing on water. Chichiri sensed that, properly cleaned and taken care of, the mass would be a waterfall of fiery silk. The girl's body was delicate and well proportioned, and he could easily see why she had been targeted for the attack, especially in this city. "Daijoubu?" He asked again, concerned that she had not answered him.

Her delicate hands gripped the material around her torso, and she stared at it disbelievingly. Finally she raised wide amber eyes to his face. "Chichiri?" she exclaimed, her voice soft and melodious. Startled that she knew his name, and feeling eerily as if he should know her, Chichiri took a step back.

"Chichiri!" She cried out, leaping to her feet and grabbing his hands to prevent him from backing further away. She was openly sobbing, the tears running down her stunning features like rivers, her chest heaving with gasping breaths. "Suzaku-sama, it's really you! Ya gotta fucking help me, Chichiri! I can't take it anymore!"

Chichiri stared into those wild amber eyes, stifling an insane urge to laugh at the incongruousness of the harsh language coming from such a delicate-seeming woman. The language, the manner, that fiery hair, those amber eyes…. "Masaka!" Chichiri cried in disbelief. He glanced down at her arm, knowing and dreading what he would see there.

On her forearm, glowing in red, was the symbol of a Suzaku Seishi.

Tasuki's symbol.


	2. Chapter 2

Tasuki huddled in a corner, Chichiri's kesa wrapped tightly around her shivering frame. On the other side of the room, the blue-haired monk spoke quietly to the innkeeper. After what seemed an interminable interval to Tasuki, the innkeeper nodded, coins changed hands, and Chichiri headed to the isolated table where he had seated the former bandit leader.

Tasuki's eyes radiated misery as her best friend plunked down in the chair across from her and shoved a flask into her hand.

"Here," Chichiri stated, his 'no da's conspicuously missing. "You look like you need this."

Tasuki reached one delicate hand for the flask, twisted the cork out with a practiced flick of the wrist, and gulped down the contents. The fiery liquid burned a path down her throat to her stomach, where it settled into a pleasant warmth. Her shivers slowly faded, and after another hasty swallow, she almost felt capable of dealing with the situation.

To Tasuki's surprise, Chichiri picked up the discarded flask and took a healthy swallow of his own. For all Chichiri's promises to someday hit the bars with Tasuki, she'd never actually seen the monk touch a drop.

Chichiri responded to his best friend's stare with a wry grin. "I need it too," he admitted wearily. "The innkeeper is going to bring us a hot meal, but other than that, we shouldn't be disturbed. So why don't you tell me what happened."

To her great disgust, Tasuki felt tears rising to choke her words. This new body was far too prone to brust into tears at the slightest provocation, and she didn't like the sensation. She was beginning to remind herself of Miaka. Chichiri watched her internal struggle silently, with no further prompting. Tasuki was grateful for her friend's understanding, and harshly suppressed the sobs.

"It started..." they both jumped at the unexpected soprano trill of her new voice. Tasuki grimaced, grabbed another gulp from the flask, and started over, determinedly ignoring the unfamiliar sound of her own voice.

"I was up on the mountain, and came across this fancy-ass carriage stuck in the mud on one of the remote roads. Just a couple of guards, and they were distracted tryin' to get the thing out of the mud. Even though I was by myself, it was too good to resist." She shuddered, seeing the scene before her once again. Inwardly, she cursed her own overconfidence, cursed herself for ignoring her own rule that no bandit was EVER to attack alone. "I took the guards out easy enough. One Lekka Shinen and it was all over. Then I jumped up and opened the door to see what was inside..."

Her voice trailed off as the innkeeper came up to them, his hands laden with trays of food. After settling the food before them, he backed off discreetly. Tasuki stared at the steaming food; she couldn't remember the last time she'd eaten. Hastily, she tucked into the meal, wolfing it down as if half afraid someone would try to take it away from her. Chichiri observed, a slight frown on his face.

Between desperate mouthfuls of food, Tasuki continued the tale. "Just this... fancy-ass woman... sitting there lookin' pretty... Chiri, you wouldn't BELIEVE the jewels this chick had... all sorts of stuff..."

With her haste in eating and her attempts to speak, the outcome was inevitable. She tried to inhale at the same time as she put a spoonful of broth in her mouth; her face quickly turned a shade of purple which clashed alarmingly with her hair as she started to choke.

Chichiri was on his feet beside her before she'd even begun to stammer a plea for help, his hand firmly pounding her back. As she finally managed to swallow and her face returned to it's normal shade, the monk grinned wryly at her before retaking his seat. "Take it easy Tasuki no da, you don't have to tell me in the next five minutes no da!" Somewhat relieved by the return of the monk's 'no da's, Tasuki did slow down, both in eating and in telling the tale.

"Well, so there's this rich bitch, pretty as you please, sitting there while all her men did the hard work. Guess she didn't wanna get her silk dress dirty in the mud. Anyway, I told her to hand over the jewels, and she just laughed at me!" Tasuki looked indignant at this, and Chichiri smothered an obvious laugh.

"Let me guess, you started spouting off about how much you hated women?"

Tasuki's indignant look abruptly faded to one of utter fear. "Y-yeah. I did. And I wish to Suzaku someone had put a gag in my mouth before I did."

Sensing they were reaching the core of the story, Chichiri leaned towards his friend, silently supporting her while prompting her on.

Tasuki's eyes were unfocused, as if she were reliving the scene. "She just looked at me, this real nasty look in her eyes..." She trailed off and shivered again, unconsciously hunching deeper into the kesa. "And she said she was gonna give me my just desserts. Then she started chanting in this weird language and a glow formed around her hands... kinda like you do when you're castin' a spell. That's when I knew I was in deep shit." Twisting the kesa nervously between her hands, Tasuki lowered her eyes. "Then it felt like I was hit by lightning or something, and the next thing I know, the carriage is gone, I'm lyin' in the mud.... And I'm a female."


	3. Chapter 3

Chichiri soberly regarded his companion across the table. Tasuki looked even more miserable than before, the kesa and a shirt borrowed from Chichiri hanging off her slender shoulders, head bowed and amber eyes hidden by the flaming hair. The story he had just heard was incredible, but, being a mage himself - and knowing the tricks destiny was wont to play with the Seishi's lives - he was more than ready to accept it as the truth.

"So, the bad news is, we've got a powerful sorceress out there somewhere no da. The good news is, since it's a spell, either I'll be able to remove it, or Taiitsu-kun will na no da."

"Hontou?" Tasuki raised suddenly hopeful eyes to meet his, the amber shimmering beneath barely-suppressed tears.

"Hai, no da!" Chichiri nodded firmly, then steadied himself against the table when the room spun slightly. _Oops no da. It's been awhile since I had sake, no da. I think I overdid it a little na no da._

Tasuki bounced to her feet and practically jumped over the table to hug Chichiri. "Oh, thankyouthankyouthankyou," she babbled, almost incoherent. "You have NO IDEA what I've gone through in this fucking body!"

Chichiri gingerly removed Tasuki from around his neck long enough to draw breath, rather surprised by the outpouring of thanks. Tasuki wasn't normally so voluble with his emotions. _Then again, Tasuki isn't normally female, either,_ he reflected wryly. "Demo, Tasuki, how did you get into Hinansho no da? Why didn't you go back to your hideout no da? I mean, I know Kouji would have laughed no da, but at least you would have been safe there na no da!"

Tasuki's eyes suddenly became shuttered, and Chichiri was startled at the sudden tenseness of her body. She slowly disentangled herself from the hug she'd been giving him, and made her way back to the other side of the table. Once seated, she took a healthy pull on the sake flask, then lowered her eyes to the table and her hands to her lap. Although he couldn't see them, Chichiri had the distinct impression that she was wringing her hands - a most un-Tasuki-like action.

"There's been another group of bandits operating in the area for the past six months," she began, her voice flat and dull. "Kouji and I figured they were comin' from this city. They didn't start out as much of a problem, so we just gave 'em the usual warning to back off, but they became more and more of a problem."

She raised burning eyes, and Chichiri was startled again at the strength of the hatred within them. "We had the mountain passes pretty much covered, so they started attacking farms - Chichiri, they were burning the crops, raping the women - and the KIDS..." her voice broke, and she shuddered, closing her eyes. "We found entire families tortured and burnt to death - and they were leavin' OUR mark at the scenes."

Chichiri felt his own anger rising within him, as he thought out the implications. The Mt. Leikaku bandits were infamous in the area, but they NEVER hurt their targets more than was necessary to subdue the guards, and Tasuki and Kouji kept a tight reign on activities such as rape and looting. And as every peasant in a fifty mile radius knew, a good deal of the wealth stolen by the Leikaku bandits had an odd habit of ending up in the pockets of those who needed it most.

And now, another group, committing these horrible acts, was claiming membership with the Leikaku bandits, undoing all of Tasuki and Kouji's hard work to improve their reputation. At the very least, it would mean trouble for the bandits - at worst, it would force Empress Houki to order the army into the area to exterminate the bandits. Honouring a former Shichiseishi only went so far, and rape and torture were far beyond that line.

Tasuki had lowered her eyes again as she continued. "Anyway, I was on my way back, when I ran into a group of these guys." Her hand went to her back in an automatic gesture, reaching for her tessen, and she shuddered when it met nothing but air and fabric. "I was still confused - I didn't have a chance. They brought me back here to be their, uh, slave girl. I don't think they knew who I really was - I think they would have just killed me if they'd known, or maybe used me against Kouji. I've been here for almost a month. I finally escaped this morning, and then those guys cornered me in the alley - and you know the rest."

Tasuki reached for the flask again, while Chichiri considered. Given the bruises, scratches, and even burn marks on Tasuki's body which he'd seen in the alley, some of which looked weeks old, Chichiri didn't think his friend had been treated very well at the hands of the bandits. In fact, he had a horrible feeling that Tasuki's soul had been hurt very, very badly - maybe past the point of fixing. Given what Tasuki had told him of their treatment of the peasant women - _No, don't go there. Just don't think about it. Not right now._ Chichiri's inner voice instructed. _We'll deal with it later. Right now, you've gotta stop him - her - from falling over._

Chichiri looked up to see what his subconscious had already realized - Tasuki was incredibly drunk. "Tasuki!" He exclaimed. "How much of that have you had no da? You look ready to pass out na no da!"

Tasuki looked up at him through bleary eyes. "I ain't had that much!" She protested. Or at least, that's what Chichiri thought she said. The words were so slurred it was hard to make out.

"Oi! I think your tolerance is a lot lower as a female no da!"

Tasuki seemed to take stock of herself, attempting to stand and ending up slumped over on the floor. "Yeah, I think I'm plucking fastered," she said vaguely, staring up at him. "In fact, I think I'm gonna go to sleep now." She started to tilt over to one side.

Chichiri jumped out of his chair and caught her before she could hit her head. "Oi no da! Time to get you upstairs no da!" He pulled her to her feet, but she staggered and could hardly stand.

Sighing, Chichiri scooped her up in his arms, amazed at how little she weighed. "Oi, put me down! I c'n walk!" she protested, but her arms came up to wrap snugly around his neck and she nestled into his chest. "Yer warm," she commented sleepily, her cold nose nuzzling his neck.

"And you're drunk, no da!" Chichiri replied, heading for the stairs. Mindful of the fact that he was more than a little out of it himself, Chichiri was very careful to watch his footing on the way up to the second floor, clutching Tasuki to him tightly. _She's so soft,_ he thought absently, eyes on the floor ahead of him. _Smells good, too. It's been a long time since I've held a woman like this..._

He caught himself and stopped short in the hallway, shocked at the way his thoughts had been going. _Oi, this is Tasuki I'm thinking about! My best friend! My MALE best friend!_

 _Not very male right now,_ some inner voice whispered to him. _Very, very not male, in fact, if that mass of softness against your chest is any indication. Tasuki makes a very well built female..._

 _STOP IT,_ he chided himself, continuing on to the room he had purchased for them both. He swung open the door with one hand, trying desperately to ignore the soft bottom he brushed against in the process. Entering the room, he dumped Tasuki on the first of the two twin beds, and quickly pulled the light blanket over her sleeping form. She didn't even stir, except to snuggle deeper into the blanket and kesa. "Mmm, Chichiri," she murmured, but did not wake.

Chichiri exhaled noisily, and plopped down on his own bed. Removing his sandals, he tucked himself into the blankets, and composed himself for sleep. _In the morning I'll try to change him back, and if that doesn't work, I'll take him to Taiitsu-kun's. He'll be back to normal soon, so I might just as well stop thinking about him this way!_

But sleep was elusive that night, and what little he got was plagued by dreams of a red-haired beauty.


	4. Chapter 4

Tasuki was only barely conscious of being lifted by Chichiri and carried to her room. She fell sound asleep in the monk's arms, lulled by the rhythm of his heart and the scent of his skin. That scent remained wrapped around her even after he'd put her to bed and left for his own room, buried deeply in the weave of his kesa. It followed her right into her dreams.

She dreamt of a night nearly a year ago, when the two wanderers had been forced off the road and into a small cave by a sudden summer storm. Lightning had flashed, illuminating the cave, and keeping Tasuki awake long after Chichiri's gentle breathing indicated he had slipped into sleep.

That night, unable to sleep, Tasuki had stared at his companion's face, relaxed and achingly beautiful in his sleep. The mask lay beside him, the jagged scar on his face a testament to the pain in his life. The fiery haired bandit had stared at him for hours, tracing the strong lines of his face and chest with his eyes, wishing desperately that he dared do the same with his hands.

Now, in dreams, Tasuki dared to do what he had only wished for then. A strong, trembling hand reached out to caress the side of the monk's face. Chichiri sighed, turning his face into the warmth. Tasuki rubbed his thumb against Chichiri's lower lip in a butterfly caress, and Chichiri moaned softly and nuzzled his hand.

Tasuki lowered his head to see more clearly in the intermittent light from the storm, and could feel Chichiri's sweet breath wafting over his face. Fascinated, he moved his hand down the strong column of his neck, to lightly trace the planes of his chest. The blanket was wrapped around Chichiri's waist, baring his upper half to Tasuki's explorations.

Chichiri shivered at the hand on his chest, then moaned in his sleep when Tasuki rubbed lightly against a hard, flat nipple. The bandit dipped his head down to run his tongue along the path his fingers had taken, wringing a more substantial moan from the monk. He nipped lightly at the nipple with his fangs, then soothed the small pain his his tongue, licking in circles around the tiny nub.

Hands came up to fist in his fiery hair, and Tasuki looked up to find Chichiri looking back down at him, the expression on his face unreadable. For several moments, time seemed to stop as they stared at each other. The a sensual grin spread across Chichiri's face, and he whispered, "I've been waiting for you. What took you so long?"

With a moan of his own Tasuki lurched up to cover Chichiri's lips in a deep kiss. His tongue probed for entrance and was granted, sliding hotly against Chichiri's teeth and tongue. They began a fencing battle, warring back and forth into each other's mouths. When they finally had to come up for air, both men were trembling.

Chichiri's hands eagerly roamed about Tasuki's body, his firm caresses making the bandit shiver and moan in ecstasy. Tasuki returned to his earlier exploration of Chichiri's body, sliding the sheet down his firm body.

Though Tasuki vaguely remembered Chichiri going to sleep with his pants on, there was nothing but glorious flesh revealed to his hungry eyes. He didn't wonder at the fact that his own clothes had disappeared - this was a dream after all. He just took the opportunity to slide their hot bodies together, rubbing to create a delicious friction between them.

Chichiri arched up into him, and both men gasped as their pelvises brushed together. Tasuki ground his hips in a circular motion, wringing a strangled cry from Chichiri's throat. "Oooh... Tasuki... yes, please, more..." Tasuki dipped his head and dug his fangs lightly into Chichiri's neck. "Ahhhh...." Was the monk's response.

Chichiri nuzzled his head against Tasuki's chest, licking and sucking at the firm skin. When he reached the bandit's nipples, he stopped to take his time and enjoy himself. He quickly had Tasuki squirming with desire above him, causing their groins to rub together more firmly, and driving them both crazy.

Tasuki ducked his head and began working his way down Chichiri's chest. Chichiri protested at the loss of pressure to his groin, but his cry quickly turned into a gasping moan as Tasuki darted out his tongue to brush against Chichiri's tip.

"Ahh... Tasuki... do that again..." Tasuki obliged, licking the salty drops from the slit. As Chichiri thrust his hips up, Tasuki began working over his penis, licking up one side and down the other, swirling his tongue around and lightly nibbling on the top. Chichiri cried out and buried his hands in his lover's hair, trying to force his mouth down over his straining heat.

Tasuki continued to tease Chichiri until the monk cried out in frustration. Finally, Tasuki gave in and engulfed him in the warm, wet heat of his mouth. As he worked his mouth up and down against the shaft, his hands slid underneath to lift Chichiri's taut buttocks and spread them apart.

The fingers of one hand teased at the tight ring he found there, causing Chichiri to cry out again. Chichiri's hips were pumping frantically now, nearly choking Tasuki in the process. Tasuki moved his free hand to caress the tight sacs at Chichiri's base, and the monk cried out, exploding into Tasuki's mouth.

Tasuki pulled away quickly, cupping his hands around Chichiri's erection and trying to catch as much of the salty fluid as he could. While Chichiri was still recovering, he began to rub the fluid on his own erection, saving a finger-full to anoint Chichiri's anus. Chichiri sighed and lifted his hips, his warm brown eye broadcasting loving desire. Tasuki moved slowly, fitting himself against that tight ring, not wanting to hurt his lover. Chichiri made the decision for him, however, as he thrust his hips forward, impaling himself on his lover's shaft.

Both men moaned and froze, neither wanting to break that delicious moment of first penetration. Chichiri's body pulsed around Tasuki, and his shaft throbbed in response, and both men shuddered.

Finally, unable to stand it any longer, Tasuki began to move slowly in and out, driving them both insane with the intolerably slow pace he set. Chichiri moaned and writhed beneath him, trying to get Tasuki to move faster.

Gradually, Tasuki began to speed up the pace, his hard thrusts shoving Chichiri back onto the blankets. Chichiri cried out and wrapped his legs around Tasuki's waist, encouraging him to yet greater speeds.

Tasuki felt Chichiri grow hard beneath him once more, the heated length sliding between their sweat-slick bodies. "Oh... gods..." Tasuki began to pant, thrusting harder and harder into his lover. "Chichiri... gods you feel so good..."

Chichiri moaned in response and nuzzled against Tasuki's neck. "Tasuki... Tasuki... I love you..."

At the unexpected words, Tasuki's entire body tightened. He was close, so close, almost there.......

 

* * *

Tasuki gasped and sat bolt upright in bed, her head spinning from more than just the sake she'd had earlier. Her entire body was tingling, her breasts felt tight and heavy, and there was a suspicious wetness between her legs. Blushing furiously, she glanced across the room to see if she had woken Chichiri.

The monk was lost in his own dreams, the mask making his face look deceptively peaceful. Tasuki thanked Suzaku for her luck, and lay back down in the sweat-soaked sheets. She was trembling with desire, unable to shake the images of the dream.

She choked down a sob, and then another, and finally buried her face in her pillow to muffle her crying. Oh, Suzaku, if only it had really happened that way. If only she'd had the strength to confess her love for Chichiri, instead of running away from him like a coward. Then she would be with him, instead of trapped in this miserable body. If only Chichiri's last words in the dream were a reality...

Turning on her side to face the monk, she stretched out a pale, slim arm towards the sleeping form in the other bed. "Chichiri..." she whispered sadly, longing for him, and knowing that she could never have him.


	5. Chapter 5

Chichiri awoke with a start, his entire body on fire. Stifling a moan, he rolled over to press his face into the pillow, shuddering with desire. His sleep had been broken with incredibly erotic dreams, every one of which centered around a certain flame-haired bandit leader.

 _This is crazy,_ he thought to himself. _I've NEVER thought of Tasuki that way before._

 _Tasuki's never been female before,_ that little voice inside him whispered.

Chichiri considered it. Granted, it had been a long time since he'd been as close to a woman as he'd been to Tasuki last night. It was possible that had triggered emotions and desires he'd thought long dead. But from what little he remembered of the dreams, it had NOT been a female body he'd been cuddled up to...

He groaned, then quickly glanced over to see if Tasuki had awoken. The bandit was sleeping facing Chichiri, curled nearly into a fetal position, with her hands tucked beneath her face like a child. The blankets had been twisted around her, and his kesa had fallen off. The loose neck of the borrowed shirt she wore exposed pale, silky skin and a hint of shadowed cleavage. She looked incredibly vulnerable, and incredibly beautiful. Chichiri drew in a sharp breath, his features beneath the mask haunted.

 _I could fall in love with her,_ he realized. _I may already BE in love with her. The mind of my best friend, the only person in the world who understands me, in a body like that..._ He shook his head, and rose from the bed. _Baka. In a few hours, with any luck, he'll be back to normal. So there's no point in torturing yourself like this. You're not interested in guys._ But the memory of his dreams mocked him.

"Oi, Tasuki no da!" He called out, forcing his voice into its normal cheerfulness. Tasuki mumbled and turned over, burying her face into the pillow. "Oi! Wake up no da!"

Without looking, Tasuki threw the pillow with deadly accuracy, smacking Chichiri in the face. With a grin at this familiar routine - Tasuki had always been incredibly difficult to wake in the mornings - Chichiri crept over to the washbucket in the corner. Testing the water with one finger, he found it to be satisfactorily cold, and brought it over to the sleeping Seishi.

He flicked a few drops onto Tasuki's face. "Oi, wake up no da!" Tasuki wrinkled her nose adorably and buried herself deeper into the blankets. Chichiri splashed a larger handful of water onto her. "Up, no da!" He insisted.

Tasuki gasped at the cold water and sat bolt upright in bed, looking around dazedly. "What the fuck?" She demanded, rubbing water and sleep out of her eyes. Then she glared at the grinning monk. "Ahou ga. What the hell did you do that for? It's barely dawn!"

"So you don't want to be turned back into a guy as soon as possible?" Chichiri asked innocently. "Okay then no da. I'll just go back to sleep..."

He was caught from behind by a flying tackle, and sent sprawling to the floor in a heap, Tasuki perched on top of him, now wide awake. "Do it! Do it now!" Tasuki demanded, pounding lightly on his chest with one small fist.

"Oi!" Chichiri protested, laughing. "I can't cast the spell from here na no da!"

Tasuki jumped to her feet and backed off, allowing the monk to rise. "What do I gotta do?" she asked, twisting her hands nervously.

Chichiri gestured to the center of the small space in the room. "Just sit there and concentrate on your male self no da." Tasuki seated herself cross-legged, and closed her eyes. Chichiri drew out some coloured chalk from one of his pouches and began drawing an elaborate circle around his friend, chanting under his breath.

Circle complete, Chichiri seated himself just outside the chalked lines, looking directly at Tasuki's face. He settled his staff across his lap, raised his hands and looped them into his prayer beads, then with a small grunt, began to concentrate.

After what seemed an interminable time to Tasuki, Chichiri began to chant again, softly at first, then louder and louder. Tasuki could feel little tingles of electricity running through her body, and did her best to ignore them and concentrate.

Chichiri frowned deeply, then suddenly shouted out what seemed to be a command of some kind. The electricity peaked within Tasuki, then surged outwards, stunning the monk and sending him flying backwards.

"Chichiri!" Tasuki cried, jumping to her feet. Knowing from past experience that crossing the chalk lines before Chichiri said it was safe to do so was a BAD idea, she stayed inside it. "Chichiri!" She called again, her heart clenching in fear.

Chichiri moaned and sat up slowly, rubbing his jaw. His mask was half melted off his face, and his scar stood out even more clearly than normal. His brown eye was vacant and unfocused. "That hurt," Tasuki thought she heard the monk mumble.

"Chichiri! What the hell happened?"

Chichiri shook his head, his good eye snapping into focus, and began to erase the line drawing carefully. "I'm not sure. I've never felt anything like that before. I think there's a spell inside the transformation spell, that repulses attempts to undo it."

Tasuki turned slowly in a circle, following Chichiri's movements. "Does that mean you can't lift it?"

"Hai," Chichiri nodded grimly. "It's much more powerful than I am. Whoever this woman is, she has more power and greater control than me, a Taiitsu-kun trained Shichiseishi - and that SCARES me."

"Can Taiitsu-kun lift it?" Tasuki asked frantically.

Chichiri met his eyes squarely, then sighed. "I don't know, Tasuki. I just don't know."


	6. Chapter 6

Once the circle was completely erased, Chichiri gestured that it was okay for Tasuki to move. Tasuki promptly lent a steadying hand to the monk, who looked like he was about to collapse. "Daijoubu, Chichiri?"

He grinned wearily back at her. "Aa. That blast just took a lot out of me, no da."

"What do we do now?"

Chichiri peeled the remains of his mask from his face and moved towards his kasa. "Now we contact Taiitsu-kun no da!" He rummaged within the hat for a moment, before pulling out an impossibly large mirror and some incense. Tasuki just shook her head, used to seeing her friend produce things seemingly from thin air. He propped the mirror against one wall and sat before it, muttering a brief spell to light the incense, which he then placed before him. Pulling a rune-inscribed paper from his belt pouch, he murmured a few words, then pinned the paper to the top of the mirror.

For a moment, nothing happened, and Tasuki thought the spell had failed. Then mist started to swirl within the mirror, obscuring Chichiri's reflection. Tasuki stared hard - she almost thought she could make out an image...

The mist cleared abrubtly to reveal the hideously ugly features of the Creator of the World, Taiitsu-kun. "Aargh!" Tasuki cried, frightened. "Sunakake baba!"

Taiitsu-kun turned an irritable scowl her way. "How many times do I have to tell you, bandit boy, it's..." She trailed off, staring in fascination at the red-faced, obviously female Tasuki. "Hmm. Now that's interesting. That IS Tasuki, is it not Chichiri?"

"Hai no da," The monk replied. He sighed. "I can't lift the spell - there's some kind of block on it that's beyond me."

Taiitsu-kun studied the red-head closely. "Never seen such a powerful signature," she muttered to herself. "Very complex spell design..."

Tasuki shifted from foot to foot impatiently, then finally burst out, "Well? Can ya help me or not?"

Taiitsu-kun grinned at him - and both Seishi had to supress a shudder at the sight. "Just exactly how did you end up this way, bandit boy?"

Tasuki turned even redder and lowered her eyes to her suddenly fascinating feet, mumbling something under her breath.

"Ehh? What's that? Speak up, boy, these old ears have trouble hearing some days." The manic gleam in Taiitsu-kun's eyes told Chichiri that the Creator was greatly enjoying seeing the most arrogant of the Seishi brought low.

"I said I pissed off some bitch and she made me a girl!" Tasuki yelled, looking back up at Taiitsu-kun.

The Creator sat back in satisfaction. "And haven't I warned you all along that foul mouth of your would get you in trouble one day, boy? Hmm?"

Tasuki just growled under her breath.

Taiitsu-kun suddenly became serious. "I suspect this is linked to a problem I've been having as well, Chichiri."

Chichiri was stunned. "Problem, no da? YOU na no da?" In all his days training with the old woman, he'd never known her to be even momentarily stumped by something.

Taiitsu-kun 'harrumphed' and looked dour. "There's a very powerful sorceror - or sorceress, as Tasuki's plight would seem to indicate - out there who's been messing with the fabric of the world. I don't know who it is, and I can't seem to trace the magic signature. It's all I can do to keep the world intact and as it should be. In fact, I'd been planning to contact you soon, and see if you could track it down."

Chichiri pondered the problem. "What, exactly, are they trying to do no da?" He asked.

Taiitsu-kun looked frustrated. "I can't tell THAT, either! All I know is that if it keeps going the way it has been, the strain between my power and hers is eventually going to tear the world apart." The creator sighed, and suddenly her normally bright eyes looked every minute of her millenia. "At any rate, I haven't the power to spare to help you, Tasuki."

Tasuki's face crumpled, and she looked dangerously close to tears. "Dammit! I don't wanna be a girl forever!"

"The best thing I can suggest would be to go directly to the source. Although a spell like this could be made permanent fairly easily on a normal person, you ARE a Suzaku Shichiseishi. Suzaku created you the way He wanted you, and He doesn't like people messing with His plans. She MUST be sustaining the spell with her own power, however slightly. If she were to die, the spell would eventually fade. Certainly, the security system in it would likely be deactivated, and Chichiri would be able to speed the effects."

"But how the hell are we supposed ta kill her, if YOU can't even FIND her?" Tasuki shouted, frustrated beyond belief. "She's fuckin' POWERFUL, and I DON'T wanna face her again!"

Taiitsu-kun cracked another smile. "Ahh, but that's just it. Most, if not all, of her power is currently being used to fend off me. If she moves enough of her attention to you, I'll be able to negate her efforts. As for finding her, you've got a link to her through the energy she's feeding the spell. Chichiri should be able to follow that easily enough." With that, the mist began to close in on herimage once again, until her parting words seemed to come from Chichiri's own reflection. "Good luck, boys. You're going to need it."


	7. Chapter 7

Both Chichiri and Tasuki spent some minutes staring at the now normal mirror, each deep in their own thoughts. Finally, Chichiri broke the silence. "Well, I might as well try following the link now, no da." He turned to see Tasuki sitting in the middle of the room, and grinned at her. "This shouldn't be nearly so hard, no da."

He got out the coloured chalk again, and started drawing more circles. Tasuki found herself staring at his unmasked face, something she so rarely got to see. _I've missed him somethin' awful,_ she realized, looking down at her hands clasped in her lap. _I shouldn'ta left him. Kouji was glad to see me back, yeah, but he doesn't need me. Hell, he does a better job of runnin' the bandits then I ever could. I just get in the way._

She looked up, and Chichiri met her gaze, grinning at her. Her eyes widened slightly at the sight - Chichiri smiling withOUT his mask was a rare thing indeed - and quickly looked back into her lap, praying her blush wasn't as obvious as it felt. She cursed her wayward heart as it skipped a beat, then sped up. _I couldn't stay with him, though. Not when every minute was torture, wantin' to tell him how I felt, KNOWING he'd hate me if I did. I thought I could be happy with just friendship when we started out two years ago. Hell, I WAS happy at first. Kouji's a great friend, and he's known me forever, but he just doesn't understand the part of me that is - that HAS to be - Tasuki, instead of Genrou. I can't go back ta bein' like I used ta be. I don't WANT to. I'd have ta forget everything that happened. Forget Nuriko, and how brave he was, moving that boulder so we could go on, even though he KNEW it'd kill him fer sure. Forget Chiriko, killin' himself to get rid of that creepy monk. Forget Amiboshi, lettin' go of that flute so he wouldn't pull Miaka over. Then killin' one of his own Seishi to protect her again. Forget Mitsukake, givin' all his energy and more to keep that child alive. Forget Hotohori, everythin' he gave up for his country and his god. Forget Miaka, and - hell, yeah, admit it ya bastard, forget how ya fell in love with her too. Dammit, I can't do it. It'd be like - like pretending they didn't MEAN anythin'. It would make it like their sacrifices were all fer nothin'_

She lowered her head until her hair curtained her face, and peered out from between her eyelashes at the monk kneeling before her, concentrating on following a tiny thread of magic.

_Most of all, it would mean forgetting HIM._

Her eyes hungrily ran over his features, taking in every detail. The tiny wrinkle between his brows as he concentrated. The frown on those lips - god, what she'd give to be free to kiss those incredibly sexy lips. Chichiri exuded sensuality, and the fact that he was completely unaware of it just made it more appealing. Her eyes travelled lower, tracing the planes of his chest through his light shirt. She thought back to the days when they had first met, as Shichiseishi. Even then, he'd been drawn to the older monk, sensing a rampant flow of emotion behind the masks he wore, just begging to be tapped. Her eyes moved to his graceful hands, clasped around the prayer beads and staff, and she thought of all the times he'd touched her, taking care of wounds, clapping a shoulder in friendliness, just brushing against each other as they walked. She treasured every one of those moments, and the feelings they gave, deep inside her, where no one could see them. Even Kouji had never suspected that he'd lost his lover to another man, only that they'd grown apart because of all that Tasuki had been through.

In her fascination with her best friend, she'd raised her head to see better, forgetting to hide behind her hair. When Chichiri suddenly looked up, their eyes met and held, neither moving or even breathing for fear of breaking the spell.

 _Can't be,_ Tasuki thought to herself, _that look in his eye... like a stunned deer... I could almost swear... he wants me too..._ She shook her head and broke eye contact, studiously ingoring her flaming blush. "Well?" She asked, her voice husky. "Anything?"

Chichiri blinked twice, then slowly turned a bright red, easily matching Tasuki. "Aa... hai, no da. It confused me at first, because it didn't seem to GO anywhere, but then I realized what it meant. She's HERE, in this city somewhere. I've got a direction and a general idea of distance now, so I just need to find a city map, and I can pinpoint it na no da." He set to work erasing the circle once more, making a seemingly deliberate effort not to look at Tasuki.

 _I wonder..._ she thought watching him from the corner of her eyes. _I wonder if he wouldn't hate me so much after all, if I told him how I felt..._


	8. Chapter 8

Chichiri was excercising every last one of the body- and emotion-controlling techniques he'd learned at Taiitsu-kun's hand to keep from continualy stuttering and blushing like a love-sick teenager. The look in Tasuki's amber eyes...

He shook his head firmly, forcing himself to concentrate on his so-far-fruitless search for a city map. _Save those thoughts for later,_ he scolded himself. _Much later. Preferably never._ But his long-denied hormones were inclined to disagree with him, providing images of the beautiful female Tasuki - and more than a few of the bishounen MALE Tasuki - for him to contemplate every time he closed his eyes.

The frustration of his quest wasn't helping any, either. Hinansho didn't appear to have EVER had a map made of it, accurate or otherwise. The city was such a den of thieves and cutthroats that nobody wanted the streets labeled and recorded - that would make it more difficult to hide one's operations from what few law-keeping forces existed. Chichiri actually startled himself by swearing under his breath as yet another shopkeeper eyed him distrustfully and shook her head.

 _At least if I'm out here searching, I'm not trapped in a small room with HER,_ he thought wearily. That was a VERY good thing, given his recent behaviour towards his best friend. Every moment he spent with the altered Tasuki brought more and more of the emotions he least wanted to feel.

 _Even if I WASN'T betraying Kouran's memory, I'm STILL just letting myself in for heartache,_ the miserable thought occured to him. _One way or another, Tasuki will end up back in his own body sooner or later. He HAS to - he'll never stay sane in that body. And even if, for some bizzar reason, he wasn't completely repulsed at the idea of making love as a female - to ME, of all people - what exactly am I planning to do when he reverts back to being male?_

He determinedly ignored his imagination's eager response of just what two males might do together. _Nuriko wouldn't have hesitated a second, I'm sure - but I just don't work that way. And neither does Tasuki - he'd probably never speak to me again if he knew I was even thinking about it!_

 _So what was that look in her eyes earlier?_ That small, insidious corner of his mind whispered.

 _He - SHE'S been through a lot,_ Chichiri stated firmly. _I've seen this before - a female, badly violated, will turn to her rescuer for reassurance. Often, their bodies will instinctively seek proof that not ALL sex is brutal and violent. I've helped Taiitsu-kun secretly aide enough battered women to know that._

His conflict, if not resolved, at least abated, he turned back to the inn. Night had begun to fall, as all around him the oil lamps were lit, and he didn't want to be caught outside after dark. Not that being forced into close proximity with Tasuki was any less dangerous, just in a very different way.

That set the pattern for the next few days, as Chichiri spent his waking hours roaming about the city in search of SOME kind of aide for pinpointing the sorceress's location. He didn't know what Tasuki did all day, but he suspected she stayed cooped up in their room. After what she'd been through, he rather thought he'd have done the same - even the so called 'respectable' men who frequented the inn during the day were as likely to 'mistake' her for one of the available serving girls and carry her off to be raped, protests or no. And in this city, no one would even look twice at her calls for help.

Chichiri made sure to return before dark, and they would spend their evenings in the common room, eating the dinner the inn provided and sipping sake. Chichiri deliberately avoided letting a serious conversation start between them, and Tasuki seemed to accept this with weary resignation, drawing into herself for company.

That acceptance was challenged, however, on the night of the third day. Tasuki had gulped her sake with a singularly determined look on her face, as if looking for the false courage alcohol could provide. She said nothing to Chichiri however, though she watched him so closely it made him nervous. When she finally suggested they return to their room, he was just as happy, hoping to get to sleep quickly and avoid having to think about her for another few hours.

She had no intention of letting him get away that easily, however, and the moment the door was closed behind him, she rounded on him in fury.

"What's the big idea, Chichiri?" She demanded, her sweet soprano, for once,  not slurred in the least by the sake she'd drunk. "Ya've been fucking avoiding me for DAYS! Did I do somethin' ta piss ya off, or WHAT?"

Chichiri laughed nervously, sweating behind his mask. "Of course not, Tasuki-ku... uh, Tasuki no da. I've just been concentrating on finding..."

"Don't gimme that shit!" She exclaimed, taking a step towards him and backing him into the wall. "You've been BROODING, is what you've been doin', and it's drivin' me crazy! Why won't ya TALK to me? You've been acting like ya'd rather I didn't exist!"

Chichiri stammered, but couldn't manage to complete a thought, let alone a sentance. _I can't let her know... Suzaku, if he found out... he'd kill me... SHE'D kill me..._

Tasuki's face suddenly crumpled, and she turned away, her shoulders shaking. "I KNEW it," she exclaimed in disgust. She brought her hands up to cover her face, muffling her words. "Ya hate me. Ya can't stand ta even LOOK at me like this. GODS..." She threw herself down on her bed, curled up facing away from him, and the tremors in her body told him she was fighting to surppress sobs.

"After what they all did ta me, I can't blame ya. I hate myself, why shouldn't you? I can't even FIGHT worth a damn anymore! I'm nothing but a ruined piece of goods..."

Abruptly what she was saying penetrated the fog around Chichiri's mind, and he was horrified to realize how she had interrpreted his avoidance. _She thinks because she was raped, and couldn't stop them, that I look down on her... that it was somehow HER fault... Suzaku! What have I done? I've taken care of sexually abused females before this, I KNOW they tend to blame themselves! But because it was TASUKI, I didn't think he'd... she'd... feel that way..._

He found himself hovering over the side of her bed, uncertain how to fix the mess he'd created. _I have to let her know that I don't think she's any less valuable because of what happened to her._ He reached out and gingerly laid a hand on her shoulder. She tensed, but made no move to throw him off, which he took as a good sign.

"Tasuki... that's not why I've been avoiding you. Please believe me. That has NOTHING to do with it!" He sank down onto the mattress, removing his mask and gently caressing her shoulder. She turned a bit to face him, and the sight of the tear tracks on her face bit into him with a near-physical pain. _This is my fault. I made her cry._

"Then what DOES it have to do with? Why won't ya even LOOK at me, never mind TALK to me?" She demanded, her voice husky with more tears.

Chichiri hesitated. _This is it... the moment of truth. She may hate me... but no matter what, our friendship will never be the same._ "I... I've been avoiding you because... because..." He swallowed hard, then plunged ahead, his face painfully red. "Because I'm attracted to you, and I've been trying to avoid dealing with it." There, he'd said it. It was out, and now it was up to Tasuki to make what he... she... would of it.

Tasuki appeared to be too shocked to make much of anything of it, her mouth hanging open and her eyes wide. Chichiri turned his face away in shame. "I know, I shouldn't be thinking of you like that. But..." He shook his head, unable to find the words to express his feelings. He closed his eyes, unable to look at her face for fear of seeing her disgust and rejection.

A feather light touch carressed his cheek, and he started, opening his eyes. She had sat up, and was touching him softly, her face lit with wonder. "Really? You really are? Chiri, I..." she swallowed what looked like a sob, and bowed her head, seeming suddenly fascinated with the pattern on the coverlet. "I'm... attracted to you, too." she admitted, her voice low. Chichiri blinked in surprise, but before he could answer, she looked up again, her face determined. "An' it's not a new thing. I've been attracted to ya for a long, long time." She watched his face carefully, as she deliberately added, "As a guy, Chichiri."

Now it was Chichiri's turn to be too shocked to think properly. Tasuki was... like that? And... he liked... him? "But... why?" He blurted out, unable to manage anything more coherent.

Tasuki seemed to understand. "I... For all I used ta tease Nuriko, I've always been like that. Hell, you know I hate girls!" She gave a slightly fanged grin. "Nuriko knew it, too, which is why he put up with it. Well, if you can call smashing me inta a wall all the time 'puttin' up with it'. And... as ta why I like you... well, hell, Chichiri, yer my best friend! You know everythin' about me... more than Kouji, even. And... and yer damn sexy, too." She blushed harder and looked down again as she made the last statement.

Chichiri's thoughts were roiling about in his mind, so quickly he was having trouble latching onto any one thought. _All this time... and he never told me, never said anything... well, of course not, baka, he probably thought you'd hate him... is this the real reason he left?...I had no idea... now what?_

Gently, he tipped her chin forward, forcing her to meet his eyes. "Tasuki... I... I've never thought about another guy that way..." Tasuki started to interrupt, but Chichiri hushed her with one finger on her lips. "I've never thought about another guy that way... until recently," he added, seeing Tasuki's eyes widen in surprise. "It was seeing you as a female that first got me started thinking this way - but it hasn't been JUST your female form I've been thinking of," he admitted shyly.

"What... are you... planning to do about it?" Tasuki whispered, her golden eyes fixed on his.

"I think... maybe..." Chichiri said, puzzling it out for himself even as he spoke. "Maybe... I'll just go with it... and see where it takes us." With that, he crossed the slight distance between them, and brought his lips to hers.


	9. Chapter 9

Tasuki was nearly in tears again as Chichiri slowly lowered his mouth to hers; but for the first time in weeks, they were tears of joy, not sorrow or fear. She eagerly tilted her face to meet his, feeling his sweet breath puff against her lips as he brushed a butterfly-soft kiss on her waiting mouth. He pulled back a little, and she opened her eyes to see warm concern radiating from his single brown eye.

"Tasuki?" the monk husked, clearly uncertain if he should continued. Tasuki smiled slightly, and raised her hands to cup his face and pull him close. This time she initiated the kiss, and though she kept it gentle, it was firm and a little wet, their mouths parting slightly as they instinctively sought more depth. This time when they pulled apart, both of them were breathing a little harder.

"I love you, Chichiri," Tasuki spoke softly, but her eyes shone with conviction. "I'm not sure when I first realized it, but I've known it for a long time." He opened his mouth, but she hushed him as he had hushed her earlier, with a finger to the mouth. "You don't have to say it back. I know you care about me - you show it in everything you do. As long as you promise that I won't lose your friendship because of this, then I'll be happy."

Chichiri swallowed hard, and looked as if he might be near tears himself. "I - you're right. I can't say that yet. But - but I DO care about you. As more than just a friend. I - I've missed you terribly, Tasuki. I haven't been happy without you by my side."

At that, the tears which had been threatening spilled down Tasuki's cheeks. "Oh... oh, Chichiri..." she threw herself into the monk's embrace, wrapping her arms about his neck and raining tiny kisses all over his face. "I've missed you too, buddy!" Chichiri gave a slight laugh and captured her face in his hands, holding her still long enough to kiss her again.

Tasuki put everything she had into the kiss, opening her lips and slipping her tongue out to slide along the seam of Chichiri's mouth. Startled, the monk parted them, and she plunged into his hot mouth.

"Mmmmm...." Chichiri moaned, his eyes closed, his hands roaming restlessly along her back. Tentatively, he met her tongue with his own. Encouraged by the small, pleased noise she made, he began sparring with her, forcing his way into her mouth and exploring slowly.

She gasped as they broke for air, her features blissful. "I never thought this would actually happen," she whispered, as if speaking to herself. "Only in my dreams..." She opened radiant amber eyes to find him blushing madly.

"Anou... Tasuki...." He blushed even harder. "I... I'm not really.... really sure what I'm ... uh... supposed to do at this point." At her incredulous stare, he looked slightly defensive. "What? Kourin and I never got beyond kissing... it wouldn't have been proper. And I've been a MONK since then... trained by TAIITSU-KUN!"

Tasuki shuddered slightly. "Yeah... yeah, I can see where livin' with her would turn ANYbody celibate!" She grinned at him, showing a bit of fang. "Well, it ain't hard... ya just do what comes naturally."

"Easy for you to say," Chichiri muttered sourly, but showed his willingness to try by capturing her lips again, this time taking the lead and swirling his tounge around hers.

They battled back and forth for a bit, Chichiri's hands describing circles on her back which slowly moved closer and closer to her sides. Finally, greatly daring, he moved them forward and gently caressed her breasts.

"Oh.... " she moaned, and leaned into the touch. "I gotta admit, that's one thing guys are missin' out on."

He chuckled a bit, and grew a little bolder, trailing kisses down the side of her neck as he tilted her back onto the bed, leaning over her. His touch on her breasts grew a little firmer, and her chest heaved beneath him.

It took him less than a second to realize that her response had changed subtly, and he looked up, his face shadowed in concern. Her shallow, rapid breathing was an indication of fear, not passion, and her wide, blankly staring eyes told him that she wasn't here, with him, but rather was trapped in her own memories. He cursed himself for not realizing the effect such actions might have on her, and moved back to a non-threatening distance, his hand resting gently on her shoulder.

"Tasuki? Tasuki!" he called softly, not wanting to startle her. His free hand brushed a strand of her fiery hair from her forehead. "Tasuki, come back to me, please."

She shuddered, and her eyes focused abruptly. "Chi... Chichiri? Wha... what happened?"

"I was about to ask you the same thing," he replied, as he gathered her into his arms. She leaned her head into his shoulder.

"I.. I blanked out. I dunno... I think I was... remembering...." she shuddered again, more forcefully this time, and he began to rock her gently.

"Daijoubu," he whispered, burying his face in the mass of her hair. She clung to him desperately, and he murmured words of reassurance.

"Chichiri... gods, it was... so.. horrible," she choked, her hand clasping at his kesa until the knuckles turned white. "You have no idea... what they did to me..."

"Dou, dou," he rubbed her back soothingly, but let her continue speaking. Sometimes, talking about it to a trusted friend was the best possible medicine.

"They... they tied me up... with rope, an'... an' other stuff.... I'm prolly a lot more flexible, now..." she gave a weak laugh, but there was no mirth in the sound. "Sometimes... sometimes they'd go, one right after the other.... sometimes, more than one at once... I... I had ta...." she blushed, looking away from him. "I had ta... suck 'em off... ya know... an' they made me swallow.... I threw up a lot, and then they'd make me... make me lick it up... and they laughed...."

Chichiri was nearly shuddering in rage now, unable to believe the horrifying experience his friend had had. Never had he heard of such depravities, never had he even imagined such men existed. Even Nakago, famed for his sexual exploits on and off the field, had had his limits. This went far beyond them.

Tasuki was crying again, his kesa turning a darker blue as it soaked up her salty tears. "I think... I think the laughter was the worst. They really ENJOYED makin' me hurt, makin' me sick." She shuddered, then suddenly looked at him with pain-filled eyes. "Except... except for the hurtin'... it wasn't anything I hadn't done before, with Kouji... and enjoyed, too... but... it was different, when they did it... when they MADE me do it..."

"It's all right," Chichiri assured him, but Tasuki shook her head furiously.

"It's NOT all right! Chichiri, they took me, they made me as dirty as they are. I feel like I'll never be clean again. I... if all this had happened before... before I left... before that bitch changed me... before they...." she started sobbing too hard to make herself coherent. "I'm not good enough for you, now," she finally managed, her voice choked. "I'll never be good enough for you..."

"Tasuki, what they did was NOT YOUR FAULT!" Chichiri forced her to look him in the eyes, to emphasise his point. "You fought them - you know it, and I know it. If there was ANYthing you could have done to stop them, you would have. I know you. YOU HAD NO CHOICE.... and you are no less as wonderful because of it. I don't hold their actions over you... and if I did, it would be I who wasn't worthy of you, not the other way around."

Seeing the disbelief in her eyes, he searched for better words. "Tasuki... think of Yui. When Nakago made her believe she'd been raped, did that make her any less a good person? When he convinced Miaka that he'd raped her - was she any less a wonderful girl because of it? Should Tamahome have abandoned her, because she was 'ruined'?"

"That's different!" Tasuki protested, but her voice was weak and she looked thoughtful.

"Is it?" Chichiri waited while she thought it out, and saw the answer in her face. He grasped her chin and kissed her firmly. "What I feel for you is not affected by what happened to you - except that if I ever catch any of those men, I'll be very tempted to use magic on them that I shouldn't. Magic that will rip them limb from limb... or worse yet, castrate them and feed it to them." Tasuki's eyes widened as Chichiri's grim face promised that he would follow through on that threat.

His face gentled, and he watched her with some concern. "We don't have to do this, now, if you're uncomfortable," he said, hugging her softly. "I can wait..."

"No!" She protested, her voice wobbling only a little. "No, I want ta do this. I want you to make me remember that it can be good, too. I've waited too long for this... I'm afraid ya might slip away if I pass up this chance."

"I'm not going anywhere," Chichiri said, but didn't argue Tasuki's choice. "We'll take it easy, then. You take the lead, and I'll follow - and if I do ANYTHING, anything at all, that makes you the least bit uncomfortable, let me know, okay?"

Tasuki nodded, her face determined, and leaned in for another kiss. "I love you, Chichiri... and I trust you. Make love to me, please."


	10. Chapter 10

True to his word, Chichiri let Tasuki take the lead, making no moves that she didn't specifically ask for. She found it a bit frustrating, as she'd never been particularly vocal in lovemaking before, but a larger part of her understood and was thankful for Chichiri's patience. 

She started with simple kisses, trying to recapture the mood which had been lost by her flashback. It didn't take long for the kisses to deepen and end with gasping breaths, as both of them released passions long pent up inside. Tasuki undid the clasp of his kesa with trembling fingers, letting the soft blue material lie beneath them. She watched his good eye carefully as she unlaced his plain white shirt, and saw only passion and longing within. Sighing softly, she slid her hands inside his shirt, where she'd longed to have them for so very long, and caressed his silky skin. 

Chichiri moaned softly as her hands made contact with his chest, and shifted to give her better access. His hand slid beneath her shirt to rub her back, and she encouraged him with a soft sound of pleasure. He leaned back, taking her with him, until he was reclining on the bed, his head on the pillows, and she leaned half over him. "Do what you want, Tasuki," he whispered huskily, and was rewarded with a gaze full of heat. 

Tasuki trailed kisses down his throat to his collarbone, where she licked and sucked, occasionally nipping gently with her fangs, then soothing the tiny hurt with her tongue. Chichiri sighed and moaned, and generally gave himself up to the experience. It was like nothing he'd ever felt before, and he was more than happy to just let Tasuki do what she pleased. 

Tasuki moved lower, and giggled slightly when he jumped as she nibbled delicately at his nipple. She felt none of the horrible fear and entrapment that had brought on the earlier flashback. She was in control of the situation, and she planned to take full advantage of it. She continued to suckle at his nipple for a few moments, then switched her attention to the neglected one, bringing one hand up to tease the wet skin she had just abandoned. Chichiri moaned softly, and Tasuki practically purred with pleasure. 

"Touch me, too... please?" she managed, and Chichiri complied, bringing his hands around under her shirt to caress her breasts. Tasuki sighed, and pushed into the contact, encouraging him to be firmer. He rubbed his thumbs against her nipples, and they peaked beneath his hands, indicating her pleasure.

"Mmm... Tasuki..." Chichiri nudged her upwards, asking for another kiss, but she danced out of his grip, teasing, her eyes flashing with pleasure and amusement. She ducked her head to nibble her way down his stomach, and he tensed beneath her, shaking. Alarmed, she glanced up, to find him obviously stifling laughter.

"Chichiri?" He shook his head, and she leaned down to continue laving attention on his abdomen. A snort escaped him, and a choked sounding giggle. Startled, she looked up again, comprehension dawning on her face. "You're ticklish!" She accused him, and laughed when he shook his head frantically. She trailed her fingers lightly down from his chest to his waist, and he instantly curled up in a little ball, protecting his weak spot, high-pitched giggles escaping from behind his hands, which he'd clapped over his mouth. "You are!" She exclaimed, delighted, and immediately set to tickling him for all she was worth.

He gasped and laughed and tried to squirm away from her, but it was no use. She quickly discovered that the soles of his feet were even more sensitive than his sides and stomach, and every time he curled into a ball to protect himself, she'd run her fingernails down his soles. He'd kick out, thrashing, to get his feet out of her reach, and she would return her attention to his now-exposed stomach.

Finally, he discovered the way to protect himself - tickle her back. Her weak spots were her armpits, the back of her neck, and the back of her knees, and he took full advantage of his longer arm reach. By the time they finally called a mutual truce, they were both out of breath from laughing, and the covers of the bed were tangled beyond belief.

She collapsed on top of him, still chuckling, and accepted his warm hug. The childish tickle fight had melted away the last of her trepidation, and she held nothing back this time when she kissed him. He responded enthusiastically, stroking her back and sides and sliding her shirt over her head. She lifted her arms, then returned the favour, tugging the plain white cloth out of the way of her questing fingers and mouth. He moaned breathlessly as her fingers slid downwards, teasing along the waistband of his pants.

She smiled as he thrust his hips up involuntarily, baring her fangs and licking her lips in anticipation. "I've waited a damn long time fer this," she murmured, slowly undoing the ties to his pants and sliding them down his perfectly shaped legs.

Chichiri held his breath as he lifted his hips to assist her, half afraid of what he was doing. _Please, Suzaku, don't let Tasuki regret this,_ he prayed. _I... I want this so much...._ He tugged at her own pants, and she nodded her permission, helping when his nervous fingers became tangled in the ties. As he slid the material down her thighs to her knees, he though he might pass out at the sheer beauty revealed. _She's.... beautiful._

He didn't realize he'd said his thoughts out loud until she blushed and ducked her head, peeking at him through long lashes and tangled red hair. "D'ya really think so?" She asked shyly.

"I've always thought you were good looking, Tasuki," he replied seriously, lifting a hand to trace her cheekbone. "But you're a stunning woman."

Tasuki cuffed him lightly, and he laughed, having expected the rebuke. "I'm a damn sight better than just 'good-looking'," the bandit leader replied, ego bruised. "I may not be in Hotohori's league, but who the hell wants to be a 'beautiful' man, anyway? I'd much rather not be mistaken for a girl!" She blushed as he laughed, looking pointedly down at her ample chest. "Well, normally, I mean!" she protested, but laughed with him.

She growled as he continued to chuckle, and silenced him with a passionate kiss. She tangled her legs with his, lying half-over him, their bodies in contact all along their lengths. She felt a suspicious wetness pooling between her legs, and moaned, rubbing against him slightly.

"Mmmm... " She slid her hand down to explore, finding and cradling his hardness. He gasped as she slid her fingers along it teasingly, and moaned when she began rubbing lightly. His hips jerked beneath her, and he bit his lip and closed his eyes in concentration. "Just let go," she whispered, and slid her thumb along the tip, catching the slight moisture that had gathered there. He whimpered slightly, and thrust up against her hand, silently pleading for more.

She obliged, wrapping her hand firmly around his length, and pumping up and down slowly. His head thrashed from side to side, and he made tiny mewling noises that spurred her on to greater efforts. She briefly contemplated using her tongue and lips on him as well, but a slight shudder in her body told her that she wasn't really ready for that yet. So she settled for using everything she'd learned in her long relationship with Kouji to drive the monk absolutely out of his mind.

When she sensed he was nearing the edge, she slowed, then stopped altogether. Chichiri gave a wordless cry of protest, his hand flying to grasp her wrist, but she held firm, refusing to send him over the edge. He opened his eyes and looked at her, confused.

"I've got better plans," she whispered, sliding up to kiss him again. He wrapped his arms around her and tangled his legs in hers, pulling her as close as possible.

"I can't imagine it getting much better than this," he moaned, his voice husky with need.

"Oh, it gets much better, trust me," she purred, moving to perch on top of his hips, his erection resting lightly against the small of her back. He moaned as she slid back until her heat met his, her wetness lubricating the motion.

"Tasuki..." Chichiri panted, his face showing strain. "If you want to stop... if you're not sure at ALL... now's the time to do it!"

"I don't want to stop," she replied, voice firm, eyes glowing. "I want this. I want YOU." He clutched at her hips as she lowered herself onto his shaft, teasing them both with her slowness.

It hurt less than she had expected it to, and she realized the purpose of the wetness which had appeared when she grew aroused. _So that's how it works,_ she thought with some amusement. _I wondered how any female could ever stand to have a guy do this, much less like it. But this feels..._ "Oooh...." she moaned aloud, as he slid all the way home. "Ohhhh... oh, that's... nice...."

Chichiri looked like he would have agreed with her, if he'd been capable of speaking just then. His head was thrown back, his eyes closed, his mouth open in a silent exclamation of pleasure. His hands tightened on her hips, holding her in place. Tasuki, however, found herself unable to sit still, longing for something more. She tugged on his arms, loosening his grip, and slid upwards a few inches, before settling back down again.

"AAH!" they both exclaimed. "Do that again..." Chichiri demanded, all but panting for air. She withdrew to his tip, then plunged back down again. Then over, and over, until they'd established a regular rhythm. His hands at her hips helped her to rise, and he thrust upwards to meet her on the downwards stroke. Tasuki gasped and panted, pleasure coiling within her body like a giant snake. It was like, yet unlike, what she'd experienced as a male, and entirely pleasurable.

She leaned forward to kiss him, then gasped in startlement as the movement caused his pelvic bone to brush against something that burst like a thousand stars within her. She cried out with excitement as the spot was hit again and again, with every thrust he made. The pleasure coiled tighter and tighter, until it felt like a giant spring was wound within her, just waiting for something to set it off...

And then something did set it off, and she felt like she was exploding, soaring high into the air on the wings of pleasure, with all the stars spread out beneath her....

When she came to, she was cradled against Chichiri's chest, his hand cupping her face, rising and falling with the rapid motion of his breath.

"Chiri?" was all she could manage, her voice thin and shaky.

"Ah?" Apparently he wasn't much more coherent than she.

"That was... worth waiting for." She said, unable to find the words to express the depth of her emotions.

"Aa." He chuckled a bit, and she could feel the vibrations of it beneath her cheek. "Yes. It was. Tasuki..." he lifted her head, meeting her amber eyes with a serious look. "I... I love you."

Her eyes widened. "Hontou? Chiri, ya don't have to say that just 'cause..." He silenced her with a kiss.

"I'm not. Just saying it, that is. I really do. It just... it just took me a long time to realize it. But what else should I call it, when your happiness means more to me than my own? When it hurts just to be separated from you. When all I can ever think about is you..." He trailed off, and kissed her softly, sealing the promise.

"I'll never leave you again," Tasuki promised, her own voice more than a little shaky. "I love you too, Chichiri."

He snaked one long arm out to snag one of the rumpled covers, and tugged it over both of them. "Oyasumi, my love," he murmured, stroking her hair with a gentle hand. "Sweet dreams."

* * *


	11. Chapter 11

Tasuki sighed and snuggled into the warmth surrounding her, resisting the tug of consciousness. She'd been having the most WONDFERUL dream, where Chichiri had told her that he loved her...

Strong arms tightened around her, and the chest beneath her cheek rumbled as a sleepy protest was voiced. Tasuki's eyes flew open, and she stared in shock at the body she was curled tightly against.

"Chichiri!" She raised her head to see the monk's good eye slit open sleepily.

"Hai, no da?"

"You're really real! It really happened!" She buried her face in his neck and tightened her hold on him.

"Hai. It really did, no da." Chichiri rubbed her back soothingly, rocking her gently. "Ai shiteru, Tasuki. In whatever form you may be in."

"Oh, Chichiri..." Tasuki was disgusted to find herself crying again. Then again, these tears were tears of joy, and so she supposed she could allow herself the weakness just this once. "Chiri, I love you too! I can't believe this really happened!"

For long, endless moments, they basked in each other's presence, enjoying the shared warmth and comfort of their embrace. Tasuki reflected that if she were to die at that moment, she would die infinitely happy.

"We should get up, no da," Chichiri finally said, breaking the spell.

"Why?" Tasuki protested, resisting Chichiri's attempts to draw her upright. "It's still early!"

Chichiri smiled down at her petulant pout. "Because, no da. Now that I'm not spending all my energy thinking of ways to avoid you, I think I may have figured out a partial solution to your problem."

Tasuki sat bolt upright, eyes wide. "Hontou? WHAT?"

Chichiri wrapped her in a tight embrace. "It won't be easy for you - but we need help. This city is too large, and things are too well hidden, for us to search it alone. We need lots of people, who aren't afraid of sticking their nose into trouble. In other words, we need the rest of the Leikaku bandits."

Tasuki blinked, and frowned slowly. "Do - do we hafta? I'd rather go back AFTER I get my own body back..."

Chichiri nodded his understanding. "I know, Tasuki - but it's our best chance to find her. And the more people we have, the better chance that we'll distract her enough for Taiitsu-kun to interrupt whatever it is she's doing - which will break the spell on you."

"Aa." Tasuki buried her face in her lover's neck once more. "I see. Yer right, of course. I'm bein' silly."

"No, you're not," Chichiri contradicted her softly. "You're uncertain, and rightly so. But I don't think your men will react badly, once they've gotten over the initial shock." He smiled slightly. "They ought to be used to you getting yourself into strange predicaments. You did it all the time, when you were with me."

"Oi!" Tasuki punched him lightly, laughing. "I'm not THAT bad."

"Oh, yes, you are, no da!" Chichiri punched her in return. "I can't count the number of times I had to pull you out of trouble. This just makes one more on the list."

"So?" Tasuki gave him a wicked grin. "I'll just hafta find ways ta pay ya back... I'm sure I'll think of somethin'..." Her hand trailed down beneath the blanket at Chichiri's waist, and suddenly, getting out of bed didn't seem all that urgent after all...

 

* * *

Several hours later, they'd bathed, dressed and eaten lunch. There was a subtle aura of happiness about them both as they went about their morning routines. Tiny touches and brief kisses were exchanged, and they could hardly take their eyes off one another. Finally, as they headed out down the road to the bandit's hideout, Tasuki laughed to find she had subconsciously wrapped her fingers through Chichiri's.

"We're as bad as Miaka and Tamahome!" She exclaimed, and Chichiri's eyes widened.

"Oh, no! I will NOT start repeating your name over and over in an inane tone of voice, no da!" They both laughed. Though they had both loved Miaka, in their individual ways, neither was blind to her flaws.

They passed what Tasuki knew was the first sentry post without incident. A quiet whistle, easily mistaken for a birdcall, alerted Tasuki to the fact that they'd been spotted by the guard. Someone would meet them on the trail farther on, and most likely would warn them to turn back, since they certainly didn't look worth the effort of robbing.

To Tasuki's surprise, they were met much sooner than he'd expected, by a bandit who skidded to a halt before them, out of breath from running.

"Chichiri-san!" The boy exclaimed. "Kouji sent me to ask you to come as quickly as you can! We have an emergency!"

Tasuki and Chichiri exchanged a brief look, and then Chichiri shrugged out of his kesa. "Step on no da," he gestured, and as both Tasuki and the runner boy moved to stand on the cloak, he began to chant. The kesa sank into a bright white light, taking the three travelers with it.

In moments, they stood before the main headquarters, Chichiri having picked the image of their destination from Tasuki's mind. A very worried looking Kouji paced back and forth before the entrance.

"Chichiri!" The blue-haired bandit clasped the monk's arm in greeting, his gaze briefly flickering over Tasuki before dismissing her as unimportant. "Am I glad to see you!"

"What's wrong, no da?" Chichiri asked, his voice serious despite his 'no da's.

"Genrou is missing!" Kouji burst out. Tasuki relaxed slightly - he'd been afraid there was a REAL problem that had cropped up in his absence.

Chichiri apparently had thought the same. "Oh, is that all na no da?" he breathed a sigh of relief.

Kouji misinterpreted their reactions. "No, you don't understand. He's GONE, no warning, no note, no nothing! Nobody's seen him for over a month! Sure, he likes to wander off on his own sometimes, but he ALWAYS tells me he's going first!"

"Maa, maa, Kouji-kun, daijoubu!" Chichiri soothed him. "Tasuki's not missing, no da."

"Then, you know where he is?"

Tasuki grimaced and spoke for the first time. "Yeah. Right in front of you."

Kouji turned to face her. "Excuse me? Who are you, anyway?

Tasuki sighed and glanced away, unable to meet her best friend's gaze. "Yarou. Who the hell do you think I am?"

Kouji blinked in surprised, unused to being treated that way by a woman. "Oi! Who the fuck do ya think yer talkin' to? Chichiri, no offense, but who is this broad, and why'd ya bring her here?"

Tasuki glared at her best friend, who glared back. Chichiri sighed. This was not going as well as he'd hoped. "Kouji-kun... anou..." He searched for a way to break the news gently.

Tasuki had other ideas. She shoved past the imposing bandit and stomped towards the main building, muttering under her breath. "I really don't feel like dealin' with this right now. I wanna change into my own damn clothes, and sleep in my own damn bed! Chichiri, lemme know when ya've got this sorted out, okay?"

"Hai no da!" Chichiri answered, suppressing a grin at the dumbfounded look on Kouji's face.

"OI! Ya can't just march in here like ya own the place, onna!" Kouji stormed after Tasuki's retreating back, grabbing her shoulder and whirling her around to face him.

That was a mistake. Tasuki winced backwards, eyes wide with terror, as she cowered before her suddenly violent friend. "Kou... Kouji..." she stammered, hands clenched in the material of Kouji's shirtsleeve.

Chichiri thought he should probably jump in. "Oi! Kouji! Yamete!"

Kouji had already released her, though, recognizing the signs of a badly abused woman. He backed off to a safe distance, and spat to one side. "Che. Didn't mean ta scare ya like that. I ain't gonna hurt ya, yer a friend of Chichiri's. Genrou would flame my ass. But ya can't just walk in ta a strange place like that."

Tasuki had recovered from her fright, but her eyes were full of sorrow. "It's not a strange place, Kouji. And yer right, I would flame yer ass. If I still could." Bitterness crept into her voice. "They took my tessen right off, after I flamed a dozen or so of 'em to death."

Kouji blinked, and stared. Suddenly the appearance and mannerisms of Chichiri's guest appeared to register in his brain. His jaw nearly hit the ground as he stammered in shock. "G-g-genrou? Masaka! WHAT THE FUCK HAPPENED TO YOU?"

Tasuki glared at the ground, raking a hand through her hair and wincing as her fingers caught in the many tangles. "I pissed off some bitch of a sorceress, and she turned me into a fucking woman."

Kouji was still shaking his head. "No way. No fucking way! I don't believe it!"

Tasuki shifted uncomfortably. "Well, how the fuck am I supposed to prove it to ya? I lost my tessen..." A familiar mischievous glint entered her eyes. "I suppose I could tell everyone the story of you and Michiko at the river, back in my first year here..."

Kouji's eyes, impossibly, widened further. "I-iie!" He clapped a hasty hand over Tasuki's mouth, glancing around to see if anyone had heard. "How did you know that?"

Tasuki sighed, and gently tugged Kouji's hand away. "Will ya believe this?" Shoving up her own sleeve, she concentrated briefly.

Outlined in glowing red, the Suzaku Shichiseishi symbol was clearly evident. The chi flowing from it was impossible to mistake or counterfeit. Kouji swallowed hard. "Well... fuck. Genrou..." Abruptly, he wrapped the tiny woman in a hard embrace, burying his face in her hair. "Dammit, Gen-chan, why the fuck didn't you come back here? I've been worried SICK about ya!"

A gentle look crossed her face, and Chichiri reflected that wearing the body of a woman was already beginning to change Tasuki. He would never have let such a feeling show before.

"I would have if I coulda, Kou-chan. Ya know that." She pulled away from the tight embrace, her face shining with hope and determination. "But I'm back now, and yer all gonna help me GET the bitch that did this ta me, right?"

Kouji beamed and thumped her on the back. "You betcha, aniki! We're all behind ya!"

Chichiri smiled... it had gone better than he'd hoped. Now, all they had to do was find the sorceress, and break the spell to return Tasuki to normal.


	12. Chapter 12

Tasuki stretched her arms high above her head, feeling her spine crack satisfyingly. It felt so GOOD to be back in her own clothes again! Even if they were too large for her new body. She'd just come from an hours-long strategy session with Chichiri and Kouji, and they had finally worked out a viable plan of attack.

The Leikaku bandits would enter Hinansho in small groups, over a period of three days, each group having been assigned a part of the city to search. Questions would be asked - some of the tougher-looking men would be pretending to want to join the new bandit group, hoping they might know of a powerful, wealthy woman operating in the area. Others would simply listen to rumours, still others would station themselves by the city gates, and follow promising-looking carriages back to their great, walled houses, and see who emerged from them. With nearly two hundred men working, the sorceress was sure to be found in a matter of days.

Kouji's sharp eyes had not missed the behaviour of the two Shichiseishi, Tasuki was certain. They hadn't been able to resist giving each other small touches here and there, as if to reassure themselves that the other wasn't a dream. Kouji had said nothing, but his expression promised that he would corner Tasuki later.

With a grimace, Tasuki tried to decide what she would say to her long-time friend and once-lover. She knew Kouji had never bought her weak explanation for why she had gone traveling with Chichiri, instead of staying and leading the bandits; he also hadn't bought her equally weak explanation for why she had left Chichiri's side after two and half years away, to return to her friends on Mt. Leikaku. But he had never pushed, and never pried, though Tasuki knew he had been hurt by her refusal to talk to him about it.

So when a heavy hand descended on her shoulder and tugged her around, she naturally assumed it was her best friend, come to make her talk to him. "Kouji, I..."

She trailed off, words caught in her throat, at the sight of three of the rougher bandits before her. She and Kouji had debated long and hard about letting these three brothers join, as they were prone to needless violence and displayed a seeming ruthlessness that had disturbed Tasuki. Kouji had laughingly reminded his friend of some of his own attitudes when he first joined the bandits, and Tasuki had acquiesced. That had been less than three days before Tasuki had been turned into a woman, and captured.

Now, in a dark, deserted hallway deep in the bandit stronghold, faced with three identical expressions of lust and greed, Tasuki was nervous about that decision. It didn't seem that their attitudes had improved any with time, and they reminded her uncomfortably of Eiken. "What the fuck do you want?" She blurted out, her voice rough.

The oldest brother - she couldn't remember their names - arched an eyebrow at her. "Now, now, pretty lady - is that any way to treat your hosts? You might be a friend of one of our fearless leader's Seishi buddies, but you are still a guest in our house. Shouldn't you be more polite?"

Tasuki reminded herself that not everyone in the bandits would have heard about her transformation and return yet. To them, it would indeed seem that she was being needlessly rude. "Take your hands off me, and then maybe I'll be more polite," she gritted, fighting the urge to strike out at the man who was still gripping her shoulder.

That grip tightened, instead of loosening. "Maybe you'll be more polite?" the middle brother repeated. "I think it sounds like you need a lesson in manners, ojosan." Tasuki trembled at the barely hidden glee in his voice. "What do you think, brothers?"

The oldest cracked his knuckles, making Tasuki wince at the sound. "I think you're right, bro. Pretty ladies should know how to treat their betters properly."

Tasuki snarled, and batted the man's hand off her. She'd had enough for one day. "I think you'd better watch your mouths," she said, her shoulders stiff. "You have no idea who you're talking to, or how much trouble you're about to get yourselves in."

"Sounds like she's got a pretty high impression of herself," the youngest commented, his eyes glittering dangerously. Tasuki shivered despite herself, beneath that cold, chilling gaze. "Maybe we oughta teach her a lesson in humility, as well as one in manners?"

The middle brother leaned in, his breath foul in Tasuki's face. She backed up, realizing too late that the movement left her pinned against the wall of the corridor, with the three of them surrounding her. "Traveling all alone with a monk - you must get awful lonely, ojosan. I bet you're just dying for a real man's touch, aren't you?"

He reached out and ran his thumb over her lower lip. Tasuki snarled and bit him, drawing blood with her sharp fangs. The man howled and drew back, clutching his injured digit to him as if it were a death wound. "She bit me!" he growled. "The little bitch BIT me!"

His hand came up and around, backhanding her hard across the face. Tasuki's reflexes in this body were too slow to dodge or block the strike, and she tasted copper in her mouth where her cheek had been cut open on her teeth.

Until that moment, she had been ready to fight, her short-fused temper sparked by their insolence and rudeness. But the moment she tasted her blood, memories came rushing back on her, overwhelming her and hold her motionless. Memories of how she had been abused, struck, cut, and taken against her will, again and again, flooded her mind's eye, until all she could do was draw breath to scream.

A heavy hand clamped over her mouth, stilling the sound in her throat, until all she managed was a whimper. Her shoulders were pinned back against the wall by two more hands, and a foul-smelling body pressed its length against her.

She squirmed desperately, trying to get away from the terrifying pressure and heat of the man's erection pressed hard against her stomach, but her wiggling served only to heighten his arousal. Horrified, she raised a wide amber gaze to meet his dark one.

The oldest brother leaned over her, while his younger siblings held her motionless, one on either side. "Struggle all you like, pretty girl," he murmured, and she nearly gagged at the alcoholic stench of his breath. "It just makes me more excited."

He ground his groin into her, and she wimpered again, turning her face away from him and closing her eyes.

He moved his hand briefly, and she cried out, "CHICHI...umph..." and was muffled by his sloppy, wet kiss, his tongue forcing its way into her mouth. Shaking with shame and terror, she found herself unable to even try to fight back.

One of the other brothers moved his hand down to caress her breast, and the sudden painful squeezing jarred her back to herself just a little. She bit down, hard, and as he pulled away, howling in pain, she hastily drew breath for another scream. "CHI..."

The middle brother slapped her harshly, choking off her cry before it even really formed. Sobbing now, Tasuki realized that although she might have gotten away from one of them, she had no chance against all three.

"You little bitch, you've just earned yourself a lot of pain," the oldest brother punched her hard, in the gut, and she gasped for air. He grabbed her chin with a painful hand, and forced her head back up for another foul kiss.

Tears ran freely down her face, as she gave up resisting, knowing from experience that to continue would only mean a great deal more pain. She could only wince as all three of them groped her roughly, squeezing painfully and pinching hard enough to leave bruises, her thoughts rising in a voiceless prayer to Suzaku.

So absorbed was she in what they were doing to her, that she didn't hear the shocked noise and outraged cry from beyond them. She was only dimly aware of what was going on, as one of them was hauled off of her, then a second, and the third cowered away, babbling excuses and apologies.

Her legs unable to support her anymore, she collapsed, huddling into a trembling little ball on the floor. A hard hand grasped her chin and lifted her face, and she whimpered and flinched away, not even recognizing the face of her best friend in her terror.

Suddenly there was warmth wrapped around her, two strong arms cradling her gently against a familiar chest, as the spicy scent that she associated with Chichiri surrounded her. Shaking, she leaned into him, burying her face in the kesa and sobbing.

Above them, Kouji raked his hand through his hair and kicked one of the now-unconscious brothers. "Ch. Genrou was right about them all along. I should have listened. Chichiri, is he - uh, she - is she okay?"

"She's just scared," Chichiri replied, his tone soft and soothing. He looked up at the bandit, his gaze narrowed and his scar making him seem more dangerous, though he didn't let his voice convey his anger to the huddled form in his arms. "She's been hurt, badly, Kouji. Even Tasuki has limits, and she's been forced far past them."

Kouji couldn't help but stare at the shivering wreck of a girl, trying hard to see his strong friend in her. He'd never imagined something like this could happen to Genrou, never imagined that anything could hurt him so badly.

And to see her wrapped in Chichiri's embrace, after rejecting his own touch - Kouji finally began to realize just how much his friend had changed, since leaving the bandits more than three years before to join the Miko.

Gesturing to some of the other bandits who had gathered in the hallway at the commotion, he pointed at the bodies of the three brothers. "I want them tied up securely, put in separate rooms, and watched. I'm going to have a little chat with them." Cracking his knuckles, he watched as the others scrambled to follow his orders.

Shooing the rest of the men away, he left Chichiri to comfort Tasuki, with only one last glance over his shoulder. Tasuki had come back to her senses, and wrapped her own arms around Chichiri's neck, clinging for dear life as the monk whispered reassurances in her ear.

Shaking his head, Kouji accepted the inevitable. _They look so good together,_ he thought. _Genrou, whoever did this to you, whoever hurt you like this - I'm gonna kick their asses for ya. I promise._ Clenching his fist, he made the promise to himself again. _For all that we were - I promise._


	13. Chapter 13

There was considerably more traffic into the city of Hinansho over the next two weeks, though never in groups large enough to make the bored gate guards take note. Surprisingly few of the newcomers left over that time, slowly filling the inns to a capacity unusual for the rainy season. The innkeepers were glad for the custom in the off season, and few were inclined to ask questions of suspicious happenings in this city.

Tasuki and Chichiri were among the last to arrive, late in the second week of operations. Hooded and cloaked against the driving monsoon rains and to prevent their identities from being remarked upon, they made their way through near deserted streets to the door of a simple, nondescript house in the center of the city. Chichiri knocked in a predetermined pattern and the door swung open to admit them. As Tasuki gratefully shed her cloak and wrung the water from her soaking hair, Kouji gestured them over to the main table.

"You guys aren't gonna believe this," he glanced up at them, bending over a rough map of the city which had been pieced together by the Leikaku bandit spies. "Take a look."

Chunks of the map had been shaded in various colours, forming an asymmetrical mosaic. Chichiri squinted at it, unable to make sense of what seemed to be random blocks and squiggles.

"They're totally takin' over!" Tasuki exclaimed, carefully holding her still-dripping hair away from the map table. One slender, feminine figure traced a path that was incomprehensible to the other Suzaku Seishi. "They've got all the major trade routes covered, an' most of the minor ones. Half the government - if ya can call it that - is in their pockets!"

Kouji nodded grimly. "Most of the surroundin' country is burned out, useless - and they've been feedin' themselves offa the stored food. This city's gonna starve come winter - and anyone left tryin' ta live out there is gonna find themselves raided for food."

Tasuki growled and slammed a delicate hand into the table with a show of her old spirit. "K'so! First thing we do once we get this sorceress bitch is take out these fuckin' bandits. I've had enough of this!"

Kouji grinned at her unexpectedly. "How about we kill both birds with one stone, Aniki?" Gesturing to the two bandits filling their faces with warm stew on the other side of the table, he continued, "Baka and Ahou here have finally managed to get in with the bandits. They had a meetin' with the leader last night - and guess who it turned out to be?"

The two men, identical down to their chipped front teeth, took the ribbing with good-natured grins. They certainly looked the part of their nicknames, both huge and hulking with the kind of brutish features one usually associated with brainless bullies. Oddly enough, they were two of the more intelligent members of the bandits, with an easy-going, gentle nature that surprised anyone who didn't know them well.

The twin on the left spoke up. "Leader's name is Hinamura Mai, tiny dark little thing."

"With a penchant for blasting anyone that gets her upset." the second twin added. "Weird blue lightning comes out of her hands."

"Fries anything that it gets near," the first finished, and they both went back to gulping their stew.

"Sound familiar?" Kouji asked, knowing there could be only one answer.

"That's the bitch," Tasuki replied, her voice full of venom. "Fucking hell. I shoulda guessed she'd be behind all this shit. Well, then I owe her twice over - once fer turning me into a fuckin' girl in the first place, and second for the month a' hell I spent at her pet bullies' hands!" Smacking her fist into her palm, Tasuki gave a satisfied grin.

Chichiri frowned, one small detail niggling at his subconscious. "Demo... didn't Taiitsu-kun say that she would be using all her power no da?"

Tasuki's brow wrinkled as well. "Hey, that's right. Where's she gettin' the power to blast these things? Shit, I don't wanna go up against her if we're gonna hafta deal with magic strong enough to beat the old hag!"

Chichiri considered the problem. Taiitsu-kun had seemed so certain that most of the sorceress' power would be occupied fighting off the Creator herself. If she had so much power left to spare, why wouldn't she be using it in her battle to control the weave of reality?

"She had a little kitten, that she would always pet just before she blasted somethin'," one of the twins offered suddenly. "Thought it was just a weird habit, but now that I think of it, she didn't ever pet it except then," the other added.

"Sou ka," Chichiri blinked. "She must be storing energy in it somehow no da. Demo, you can't store energy in living things na no da! Are you certain the kitten was alive no da?" Both twins nodded, and Chichiri began to pace back and forth, absorbed in thought. "Everything she's done until now has conformed to the laws of magic no da," he murmured aloud, the steady rhythm of his footsteps the only sound in the room as he thought. "She's just very powerful no da. So how could she..." his head snapped up, masked expression brightening as something occurred to him. "Was it wearing a collar?"

The two bandits took a moment to reply, conferring soundlessly with each other in the manner of all twins. "Ah," the first one finally answered slowly. "Now that you mention it. Was as black as the fur, so it was hard to see."

"That's it then no da!" Chichiri proclaimed triumphantly. "The collar holds a spell of sympathetic magic - a sort of amplifier, na no da. The bolt is produced by static electricity when she pets the kitten, and is made stronger by the collar no da!"

"So all we have ta do is get the damn cat away from her, and we've got it easy, ne Chiri?" Tasuki asked, catching on quickly.

"Hai no da! She'll either have to divert her real power from her battle with Taiitsu-kun, in which case the Creator will be able to overtake her no da - or she'll be helpless against our physical attacks no da!"

"So we just gotta get through the bandit guards!" Tasuki's entire body was practically vibrating with glee, her eyes wide and glittering with joy.

Kouji held up a hand. "Ain't gonna be all THAT easy, Gen-chan," he warned. "There're a fuckin' LOT of these bandits to get through. AND we gotta get the damn cat away from her BEFORE she blasts us."

"We got two hundred of the best trained bandits this side of Kutou," Tasuki growled happily, not deterred in the least. "AND Chichiri to blast her ass to the Miko world and back to distract her! We got this sewn up, Aniki. Let's call in our boys and get this show on the road!"

Kouji laughed and slapped his best friend on the back. "That's the Genrou we all know and love!" he exclaimed. "I'll get the call ta muster started and round up all the boys - you and Chichiri-han start the battle plan!"

 

* * *

The rains had not let up in the least by the night of the planned attack - if anything, the downpour had only gotten stronger. Chichiri frowned at the main door of the bandit stronghold from their hiding place in a drenched alleyway. He truly hated monsoon season, for many reasons, and he could only hope it wasn't a bad omen of things to come.

"Ya ready, Chiri?" Tasuki's sweet voice slid through the darkness from his left, barely contained excitement dancing in her tone. Chichiri nodded, then remembered that she wouldn't be able to see him through the spell of invisibility he had cast, and answered aloud.

"Hai, no da! Once the Leikaku bandits get them to open the main doors, we should be able to slip inside without a problem, na no da. Then you just have to get the cat away from her, and I'll blast her with a spell no da. But remember... don't TOUCH anything until then, no da! The spell will dissipate the moment you interact with a physical object na no da!"

"Hai, hai! Don't worry, Chiri! We've got it in the bag!" The bandit leader's voice was outwardly confident, but Chichiri knew his friend well enough to detect the worry and apprehension buried below the brashness. He wished he dared reach out and hold his lover's hand reassuringly, but that would break the spell, and he didn't have the reserves to cast it again. It had taken him two days of solid meditating to build the power for it in the first place.

"Any second now..." Tasuki's observation was interrupted by the first shouts from the bandit stronghold. Dozens of Leikaku bandits spilled out of hidey-holes all around the building - shattered windows, broken doorways, dark alleys, even a few dropping down from the roofs above. The startled gate guards were unable to close the doors before the Leikaku bandits wedged them open, and were forced to confront the much larger force of attackers head-on. Shouts for reinforcements from inside quickly rang out.

"Here we go, no da!" Chichiri chirped as the big doors swung open to let the reinforcements through. He took off running, edging carefully along the side of the building to avoid the fighting. The Leikaku bandits had orders to keep the fighting at least an arm's length from the walls at all times, to allow the two invisible seishi to pass without disrupting the spell.

There were a few near misses, one of which ended with a battle-axe buried in the wall just inches from Tasuki's face. Cursing from no apparent source startled a few of the bandits on both sides, but both seishi managed to make it through the doors without disturbing anything enough to break the spell.

Once inside the much quieter hallway, Tasuki found herself swamped with rising memories. She knew this place, intimately - she'd spent four weeks as a prisoner within these walls. There was hardly a room that didn't contain some painful image for her, and she grew less and less confident the further into the stronghold they traveled.

Chichiri apparently sensed some of her distress, for the soft sound of the monk's footsteps came to a halt before her. "Tasuki..." his voice floated eerily out of nowhere. "Daijoubu ka? You don't have to do this... I can get in by myself no da..."

"Iie!" Tasuki replied, harshly forcing the emotions and memories to the back of her mind. "I need to see fer myself, Chiri. That she's gone, I mean. And dammit, I WON'T let this get the better of me!"

She could hear the proud smile in her lover's voice. "Wakatta no da. Just remember no da... you're not alone na no da. I'm with you. Always."

"So, what are we waiting for? The boys aren't gonna be able to keep the guards distracted forever!" Tasuki replied, striking out again. "One good thing... I've got a pretty good idea where she is. There was only one room that I was never brought to, and that I was never allowed to go into. Since I never once saw her here... that's gotta be it."

"Hai no da!"

Clattering footsteps warned them of the approach of more bandits from around a corner, and both Seishi froze, holding themselves as silently as possible, pressed up against the wall. The bandits ran by them, heading for the door, without so much as glancing in their direction. Tasuki let out a long sigh after they'd gone.

"It's just around the corner," she informed her partner. "Those musta been her guards - I think I recognized a couple of them from the first time I ran inta her. The boys must be doin' good, if she's worried enough ta send her own bodyguards!"

"Less for us to worry about, no da!" Tasuki heard Chichiri round the corner ahead of him, then the monk stopped with a disconcerted noise.

"What's wrong?"

"The door is shut no da! We can't open it without breaking the spell na no da!"

Tasuki cursed. "Shit. If we'd been a few seconds earlier, we coulda slipped in when the guards left."

They stood there helplessly for a long moment, stumped, then finally Tasuki shrugged. "One of us is gonna hafta open the door, and let the other one through."

"I'll open the door," Chichiri said, and firmly cut off Tasuki's incipient objection. "She'll blast whichever of us that she can see no da, and I can shield against that. You can't na no da. Your job will be to get the cat away from her as soon as possible no da."

"Yosha!" Tasuki cracked her knuckles. "Let's do it!"

Bracing himself, Chichiri readied a shield spell, knowing he would have perhaps moments to throw up his defenses before she threw a bolt at him. He'd have put them up before hand, but there was a slight chance that she was scanning for magical energy, and that would alert her prematurely.

With a deep breath, he slammed through the door, feeling the itchy tingle as the invisibility spell dissipated. He got a hurried glimpse of long dark tresses framing a startled face, before the expected lightning bolt crackled towards him. He threw up the shield he had prepared, and was relieved when the bolt spent itself harmlessly against it. The spell was strong, but not strong enough to breach his Suzaku-granted protections.

He felt the air swirl around him as Tasuki rushed past him, and sent a bolt of his own back at the sorceress in the hopes of distracting her from the noise of Tasuki's footsteps. It crashed uselessly against her own shields, as he'd expected, but it also allowed Tasuki to get by him and into the room.

"Who are you?" She demanded imperiously. "How dare you attack me in my own stronghold? What right have you?"

"Suzaku no Shichiseishi Chichiri!" he answered her, bringing his staff around in a defensive position. Her eyes narrowed.

"Sou ka? You must be that mageling of Taiitsu-kun's I've heard of." She gave a delicate little laugh, the sound sending thrills of ice along Chichiri's spine. "Do you truly think you possess the power to defeat me, little one? I have been gathering strength to me for centuries longer than you have even been alive!"

He could feel the power building around her, crackling and snapping in the air between them. A sense of countless years weighing him down crashed over him, and he was driven to his knees in sheer awe of the force of her power. He could easily believe her claim of impossible age, and the horrible possibility occurred to him that she'd been toying with Taiitsu-kun, leading the World's Controller to believe that all of her power was tied up in their battle, when in fact she had been holding back all along...

"Fuckin' bitch! Take this! LEKKA SHINEN!"

Flames tore through the air and engulfed the sorceress's shields, and she screamed. The looming sense of power vanished, and Chichiri found himself kneeling on the floor, holding himself upright by his staff, panting. Understanding came to him as he stared at the woman now battling the tide of fire. "A spell," he murmured aloud. "Another amplifying spell, to make her seem infinitely more powerful than she is..."

Tasuki was now visible, standing to one side of the dais, clutching her tessen tightly in a white-knuckled grip, grinning shakily at her lover as the flames died away. "Sorry 'bout that, Chiri," she said flippantly. "I was goin' fer the cat, but I saw my tessen and figured that'd be a hell of a lot more useful."

"Well, if it isn't the little bandit boy I decided to teach a lesson to," the sorceress purred, gliding towards the fiery seishi. Tasuki took a step back, brandishing the tessen threateningly, but she ignored it.

"And have you learned your lesson, little one? I know my dear soldiers have taken a great deal of enjoyment teaching it to you." She paused, and tilted her head, one finger artfully tapping her full lips. "But what is this little toy that you have? When my men brought it back, I sensed the magic within it, but was unable to use it. How is it that you unlocked its power so easily? It cannot be something so simple as a magic phrase."

Tasuki snarled at her. "Nobody can use it but me. Suzaku no Shichiseishi, Tasuki!"

"Ah, sou!" She exclaimed, clapping her hands together in revelation. "That explains the difficulty I've had in making my little spell permanent. But tell me, did you two boys truly think you could stand against me? You've been very clever thus far, I'll grant you, but do you think you've encountered all of my defensive spells?" Smiling wickedly, she made an elaborate gesture with one hand.

Abruptly the room was plunged into darkness, the floor tilting wildly. Chichiri gasped for breath and discovered all the air had fled the room, leaving only the darkness that invaded his eyes, his mouth, his ears, every possible way into his body, and it was slowly suffocating him in its grip...

"Chichiri!" Dimly, he heard Tasuki's shrill soprano cry, reaching out to him through the darkness. Panting desperately, he tried to focus on the frantic cries of his lover, pulling his scattered will back to him with a fierce grip.

"Suzaku... help me..." he gasped with his final bit of air. Was there a red tinge now to the void surrounding him, or was it only his vision fading in his last moments of life?

Brilliant red light exploded against the darkness, sweeping it away from the mage and bringing back the blessed coolness of fresh air against his cheeks. Chichiri dragged the wonderful stuff deep into his lungs, coughing raggedly, and became aware of slender arms holding him upright.

"Ta...Tasuki?" he croaked, squinting as the light faded and the room returned to normal.

"You stopped breathing," she informed him, her voice high and tight with fear. "An' yer heart stopped beatin'. Chichiri, ya scared the hell outta me! Don't do that again!"

"Not planning on it," he informed her wryly, as he struggled back to his feet. The sorceress had not moved, the superior smirk on her face conveying her contempt for the two seishi.

"You see? Your efforts are futile. Why don't you save yourself a lot of pain and effort, and just surrender now? I won't kill you... I won't even hurt you, if you agree to join my cause. I could use two such powerful fighters among my ranks."

"Why...are you doing this?" Chichiri asked her, his breath still coming in unsteady gulps. "Why do you battle Taiitsu-kun this way?"

She sneered at him. "Do you think you are the old hag's only student? I was once her protégée, as you are now. Her most promising student, she told me. But she's grown old, and paranoid. She was jealous of my power, afraid that I would surpass her. So she hid things from me, kept me from learning certain spells, tried to contain my power to what SHE termed 'acceptable levels'. Meaning not powerful enough to threaten her." She laughed that chilling laugh again, the sound holding more than a little insanity.

"When I stole one of her spellbooks in order to learn the magic that was mine by right, she cast me out of the mountain. Since then I've been biding my time, learning techniques to make my power stronger, more versatile. Now I am strong enough to challenge the old hag on her own grounds, and when my bandits have conquered all these lands, I will truly supplant her as Controller of the World!"

Tasuki snorted indelicately. "Yer insane," she told the other woman bluntly. "Much as I dislike the old ghoul, you ain't got nothin' on her. She's fuckin' immortal, ya idiot! She didn't GET the position of Controller, she just IS! She's the Creator, fer Suzaku's sake!"

"Tasuki is right, no da," Chichiri said, keeping his gaze steady on her rapidly darkening one. "Even if you were able to defeat her magically, no mortal could ever hope to hold the threads of the world as she does. It would tear your mind apart to try. And even should you survive it, the gods would never permit it. You would be destroyed."

"You know nothing!" the woman shrieked, poise and control vanished in the face of her unreasoning anger. "You are just her pawn, controlled by her as surely as she once tried to control me! And as such, you are limited in your power! You cannot hope to defeat me!"

So saying, she flung her arm out, and a wave of pure energy crashed towards the two seishi. Chichiri barely managed to erect a shield in time to protect them, and even still the sheer force of it slammed them both into the wall.

"Psycho bitch!" Tasuki growled, bringing the tessen to bear. "Eat flame! Lekka shinen!"

The sorceress countered the flames easily, laughing insanely as she threw bolt after bolt of energy at them. Chichiri shielded them desperately, frantically searching for holes in her magical armour. There were none, no weak spots that he could take advantage of, and even with Tasuki distracting her with her fire, the sheer power of her attacks was rapidly eroding his barriers.

"Tasuki..." he gasped, blocking another wave. His vision was blurring again, and he could feel exhaustion dancing along his nerves, dragging him down. He fought it, knowing that if he gave in both he and his lover would be destroyed.

"Hakuroen!" Tasuki was also tiring, but she threw everything she had into one final, desperate shot. The power surged through her as it never had before, and she could feel Suzaku behind her, channeling the energy that she needed, building it into a veritable mountain of power...

And still it was not enough. The sorceress deflected the massive wave of flame, laughing in delight as Tasuki stumbled back against Chichiri, panting. The mage held her tight, knowing that he wouldn't be able to stop the next blast, knowing that they were staring their own death in the eyes. Yet somehow, both were comforted by the knowledge that they would not die alone, with their love undeclared.

"And now," the dark-haired woman declared calmly, "You die." Chichiri could feel the build up of power as she gathered enough magic to her to level the entire compound.

"Not just yet, actually," a familiar gravelly voice gritted out from behind the dais, and all three combatants stared in amazement at the glowing ball of energy which had formed there.

"Taiitsu-kun!" Chichiri cried in relief as the energy resolved itself into the form of his mentor. The sorceress squeaked and tried to fling the magic she had gathered at the wizened old woman, but was easily deflected.

"That's quite enough of that, I think." Taiitsu-kun gestured, and solid lines of light reached out to wrap around the dark-haired woman, holding her immobile. Though she struggled, the ethereal strands also served as a sort of magical ground, preventing her from gathering any power to cast a spell.

"As I had hoped, Chichiri and Tasuki were able to anger you enough that you forgot to watch for me," Taiitsu-kun said gravely, staring at the woman held in her magical grasp.

"Taiitsu-kun?" Chichiri ventured hesitantly, and the Creator sighed.

"Yes, she was once my student," the hag replied, looking both weary and saddened. "She was born with a talent for magic, and came to me much as you did, looking for training. I granted it to her, but she quickly grew insatiably power hungry. Nothing was enough for her, and when she reached the natural limits of her power, she became convinced that I had somehow restricted her. She simply wouldn't believe that I wasn't holding something back from her, some way of increasing her power further."

She sighed, and shook her head. "I caught her snooping in my books of blood magic - the use of human sacrifice to gather power. I suppose in a way, I HAD been holding that from her, as it is indeed a way of increasing a mage's potential beyond their natural ability, but the rituals are evil in nature and require a great deal of pain and suffering from the sacrifice."

"The bandits..." Tasuki's eyes widened in understanding. "All the torture, the raping..."

"Building her power base," Taiitsu-kun confirmed. "Though you'll be happy to know that your bandits made short work of her men... ill-trained, the lot of them. Completely unable to work as a team, unlike your boys." Tasuki grinned and rested the tessen on her shoulder, full of pride for her bandits.

"What will happen to her now?" Chichiri asked, eying the captive warily.

"I will take her back to the Mountain, and do my best to heal the damage she has wrought, both to others and to herself. With luck, someday she will come to realize the full consequences of her actions, and repent them."

"Hey, what about me?" Tasuki demanded frantically. "The spell doesn't break if she's still alive! I don't wanna spend the rest of my life as a fuckin' girl!"

Taiitsu-kun chuckled, winking knowingly at Chichiri. "Oh? You seemed to have found at least one positive thing in the experience..."

Chichiri blushed, but didn't loosen his grip on his lover's hand. "Male or female, Tasuki is my other half," he insisted. "It may have taken something this extreme to make me realize it, but..." He shook his head. "The body doesn't make a difference. It's the soul inside that counts."

Tasuki gave him a startled look, and Taiitsu-kun nodded. "Good. It's about time you realized that - I was beginning to think I would have to do something drastic to get you two together." She chuckled as both seishi stared at her in astonishment.

"At any rate, now that I'm no longer spending the bulk of my power containing her..." Taiitsu-kun focused her full attention on Tasuki, muttering a few arcane words and gesturing broadly.

A wave of vertigo swept the bandit, and when his vision cleared, he found himself leaning heavily against Chichiri. "What the fuck..." he started, then his eyes widened.

"I'm a guy again!" He exclaimed joyfully, reveling in the feel of his own, natural body. "Suzaku, it's fuckin' good ta hear my own damn voice again!" Grinning at Chichiri - happily noting that he was looking DOWN at the mage once more, even if from only a few centimeters difference - he swept his lover into a passionate embrace.

When they broke for air, Chichiri was red as a beet, but smiling happily. "I'm glad to see you back to normal as well, Tasuki-kun no da!" he exclaimed. "And... I do like your male body na no da," he added shyly.

"Glad ta hear it, koi," Tasuki smirked at him, showing a little fang. He shook his head. "I guess I learned my lesson all right. Next time, I FLAME the bitch before she casts a spell on me!" Chichiri frowned at him in consternation, and he laughed. "I'm kidding! Hey, where'd Taiitsu-kun go?"

Chichiri glanced around, and sure enough, the Creator had left at some point during their spit-swapping session. He shrugged. "Back to Mount Taikyouku most likely no da. Her part in this is done no da."

"Just as well," Tasuki murmured, leaning in for another kiss. "What I've got in mind for celebrating my return to manhood does NOT require an audience!"

Their lips had barely touched when the door slammed open behind them, and they sprang apart into defensive positions automatically. Tasuki was halfway through the incantation for the tessen when he registered the sight of Kouji and dozens of his own bandits, wounded and winded but ready for more.

"Kouji!" He exclaimed, quickly swinging the tessen away.

"Aw, damnit Genrou, didn't ya leave any fer us?" Kouji grinned at him, relief at seeing his friend back to normal belying his teasing words.

"Sorry, Aniki. Yer just gonna hafta be faster next time. All the rest of the scum taken care of?"

"Dead, every one of 'em. And would ya believe it, we actually got help from some of the townspeople!"

Chichiri smiled. "Even the worst dregs of this town had to be objecting to what her men were doing na no da," he commented. "They just needed someone to lead the way no da."

Kouji waved the other bandits back out of the stronghold, and moved forward to sling one arm around each of the seishi's shoulders. "We've got a lot of work cut out fer us, if we wanna help these people get enough food ta survive the winter. But I figure, they'll be so damn grateful to us, we'll have a whole bloody city under Leikaku control!"

Tasuki grinned back at him, seeing the tacit acceptance of his relationship with Chichiri in Kouji's eyes. "So, Chichiri... ya ready ta give up wanderin' yet?"

"Yer welcome ta settle down with us!" Kouji threw in, nodding at Chichiri's startled look. He smirked. "Hell, with a mage on our side, even the palace guard won't be able ta stop us!" Laughing, he propelled both seishi through the door. "But in the meantime... let's just get the fuck out of here, and get some food and somethin' ta drink ta celebrate!"

Tasuki laughed, wrapped his own arm around his best friend's waist, and felt Chichiri do the same. "Bring it on!" he declared, throwing his free fist into the air in a victory punch. He could still feel the residual effects of his torment as a female as they made their way back through the too familiar rooms, and he knew he was going to have a long, hard time learning to deal with everything that had happened to him; but with his best friend and his lover by his side, he knew he could take on the world and win - and he'd never been happier in his life.


End file.
